Footsteps in Time: Year Two
by Goldenlioness4
Summary: Remus' secret is now out...how will his friends react? Sirius is starting to see how wrong his family is about blood...but will he be able to take a stand against them? See how all these things turn out in the Marauder's second year.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Its all JK Rowlings**

**A/N: SPOILER ALERT! I will be using certain things we have learned in Half-Blood Prince in my story.**

**This is a sequel to Footsteps in Time, though you don't have to read Footsteps in Time, it will help explain certain things. This chapter is shorter than my usual, but I didn't think I needed to focus on anything else.**

**Sequel to Footsteps in Time**

**Footsteps in Time: Year 2**

Grimmauld Place could never be described as _warm, cozy _or_ homey_.

The exterior of the house was kept immaculate. The shutters were always drawn. The windows tightly shut. The walkway led to a freshly painted door with a serpent silver knocker. The twisted serpent dared any brave sole to disturb the contents inside.

The house had been decorated with one purpose: to show the power and prestige that went with the Black family name.

Unwelcome visitors would find it nearly impossible to step a centimeter inside the doorstep. Even the usual household pests rarely attempted infestation.

With all the security measures in place, someone would suspect that the house was hiding some Ministry secret, instead of a family of four.

One member of the family at that moment was quickly changing out of his school clothes and into dinner clothes. Sirius Black had only been home for a few hours.

Dinner was to be served soon and he was expected to look respectable.

Sirius had a sinking feeling that his family was expecting guests this evening. And guests meant having to endure stuffy, obnoxious brownnosers and make _small talk _with their insufferable, even more obnoxious, arrogant offspring. To add to the already unbearable thought of guests, an uneasy feeling was slowly consuming his stomach.

"Sirius,' a childish voice called from the doorway, "Are you almost ready?"

"You can go down without me, Regulus," Sirius muttered looking at his younger brother with disdain.

"Mother instructed we were to go down together."

"Do you always do what our dear Mother says?" Sirius said straightening out his robe in the mirror.

"I think you rebel enough for both of us."

Sirius frowned at his reflection, "You cut your hair."

"Mother thought it was getting too long. And I actually like it this length. She'll probably make you cut your hair too."

"Let her try."

Regulus's face darkened, "You already got your way with Gryffindor; couldn't you give them some slack and at least obey mother and father a little."

"Don't worry about it. I plan on making this summer as pleasant as possible for all of us. So who are we having over for dinner?"

Regulus gave him a puzzled look, "No one. We're just celebrating your return home."

"And that's a cause for celebration?"

"You still are part of this family, Sirius. Now let's go before the food turns cold."

* * *

Regulus watched his older brother carefully as they descended to the dining room. Sirius had changed. He had noticed that immediately. Their parents were not going to be happy and Sirius so far did not act as if he were willing to listen to reason. 

"Are you sure no one is coming over?" Sirius repeated, "Why else would we use the _formal _dining room?"

Sometimes Regulus couldn't believe how dense his brother could be.

"I'm sure," he answered trying to keep his voice emotionless.

Regulus curled his fists into balls. He hated being jealous of Sirius. He had always wanted to be just like his older brother. Regulus understood that since Sirius was the heir it was only normal his parents would invest more time and energy into him.

That didn't change the fact that it annoyed him, especially when Sirius thought mother and father did not care at all. Just look at where his mother had decided to have Sirius's returning home dinner. In the one room that was only used for the _most _important guests. Even after Regulus had spent four weeks being the ideal child and he had promised not to make a lot of noise or mess, his parents had refused his request to have his birthday dinner in that room.

Regulus cringed slightly when he noticed Sirius had forgotten his manners. How could Sirius forget to bow? And then Sirius didn't even properly greet their parents. Yet Sirius wasn't scolded, his mother instead told Regulus he sat down too loudly. It didn't make sense. It didn't add up. Regulus had endured a school year worth of complaints about his brother and he was being yelled at for silly reasons.

Regulus stared at the expensive cutlery beside his plate. His appetite had vanished the moment he had taken his first bite. After moving around various pieces of food on his plate, he finally chose the tastiest looking morsel of food.

"Regulus, do not chew with your mouth open!"

Regulus felt his face burn. He gulped down the piece of chicken he had been chewing slowly, "I apologize mother."

In the corner of his eye, he saw Sirius sneering at him. He couldn't exactly blame Sirius for enjoying this rare moment. It was usually Sirius who was always being yelled at and it was painfully obvious that his brother was enjoying the reversal of things.

Sometimes Regulus wished his mother would scold him more and would pay more attention to everything he did. Even if most of the attention Sirius received was negative, it was still attention and that was something Regulus didn't get enough of. True, his mother did at times spoil him, but Regulus felt this was because it got him out of the way. It kept him quiet.

During the school year, the lessons Regulus had gotten intensified tenfold when Sirius went into Gryffindor. Regulus knew the underlying reason for the additional attention was that his mother and father were terrified he would follow his brother's footsteps. So their actions were still linked to _Sirius, _the heir.

Regulus knew he would always be second best. His parents didn't believe he could succeed like Sirius did. Regulus would show them. He would show them all how much a better son he could be.

* * *

Sirius was always disgusted by the way Regulus would bend to his parent's wishes. It only made every little rebellious act Sirius did worse. 

His mother sat through most of dinner watching Sirius or scolding at Regulus. This was very unusual because Regulus rarely did anything wrong in his mother's eyes. His father did ask him when his grades were supposed to arrive, but other than that he watched Sirius carefully as well.

Sirius had to use all his energy to appear unconcerned about even having a returning home dinner. In most families this type of dinner may have been a typical occurrence, but the Blacks were anything but normal. He was beginning to worry that they might have poisoned the food.

"Kreacher," his mother commanded and one of their house elves materialized into the room, "Go draw a bath for Regulus."

Krecher bowed and disappeared quickly.

Regulus was frowning now. "Mum…" he began.

"I'll hear none of that. You are excused to go take your bath, Regulus. I will send for you to say goodnight later on."

Regulus didn't argue further. He did send a furious glance in Sirius's direction, as if this was his entire fault. Well it might have been, since his mother and father obviously wanted their precious son occupied while they talked with Sirius.

"Sirius, you are excused to go wait in your father's office."

Sirius gulped down the rest of his water before standing.

The office was located on the second floor and it was exactly as he remembered it. Every book, paper, quill placed in its exact spot. It was as if Sirius had never left. It was as if the whole year in Gryffindor had been a dream. Sirius paced up and down finally deciding to take a seat.

He knew something like this would eventually happen. He hadn't expected to be fed a normal meal, which had completely thrown him off. Now he had no idea what to expect. He could feel his pulse racing and the dread he had been feeling only increased.

Sirius drew in a quick breath when his mother and father walked in. His mother's shoes clicked dramatically.

His father was no longer wearing the clothes he had worn during dinner. He was wearing a black outdoor cloak. His boots were shined and his gold shoe buckle glistened in the dim light.

"Stand up, boy! Do we have to re-teach you everything!"

Sirius stood up quickly, almost tripping over himself, "Sorry…" he stuttered. _Always stand when an elder enters a room._

His mother glared at him and his father spoke in that deadly quiet voice that scared even grown men, "Where are you manners Sirius? You will treat your mother with the utmost respect.

"Sorry, ma'am."

His mother nodded curtly and his father allowed his mother to sit first before sitting himself.

Sirius began to sink back into his seat.

"Did I say you could be seated?"

"No, ma'am. Sorry, sir."

_Never sit down in front of an elder until you are requested to take a seat. _ Sirius felt his face growing warm. Did they really expect him to abide by every silly rule at this moment?

The command to sit never came.

"Is that Potter boy still a _friend_ of yours?" his father asked.

"Yes, sir," Sirius said tiredly, "He isn't a bad…"

"Excellent," his mother whispered. Sirius looked at her in utter bewilderment.

His fathers eyes gleamed darkly, "Let me tell you a story, Sirius. Once upon a time there was a pureblood girl finishing her last year of Hogwarts. The girl had everything wealth, power, pure blood and a suitor with matching qualities. Then one day the girl had a crazy notion that _blood _meant nothing, that _wealth _wasn't important, and that _love _and _attraction _were qualities to look for in a suitor. The girl was from the Prince family. As you know their line is almost as old as ours. So their only daughter marries a _muggle_. I can't imagine where she would even met one of those…well with her being in Slytherin especially she could have hardly had contact with _those kind of sorts. _She went against her parent's wishes, her friends concern and married him for _love_. She conceived a child, you know him, Severus Snape."

"Snape's a _half-blood_?" Sirius asked in astonishment. His mind reeled with this information.

"No one instructed you to speak!"

"Sorry, sir."

"Yes, the Prince family line has been tainted by the filthy blood of a muggle. Something that I believe the Prince's will never overcome. The muggle refuses to work, he can barely support his family and yet Eileen Snape refuses to give her only child her high-status surname. The Princes are paying and will continue paying all of the important families to turn a blind eye to the boy's origin. The Princes were taking a huge gamble, but the Snape boy seems to have inherited very little from his father. Not only was he sorted into Slytherin, something you have not, he has caught the attention of Lucius Malfoy. His knowledge of the dark arts is far above his age and he is turning out to be a great asset in Slytherin. You listen carefully, son, you are heading dangerously in the same direction as Snape's foolish mother. We will not pay people to forget your transactions. You will be cast out of the family, with no money, no food, no place to live. We have another son to take your place as heir, Sirius. You remember that next time you feel even the slightest twinge to disobey," his father took a deep breath, "Lucky for you, there is still a way out of this whole mess. Your mother has conceived an ingenious plan."

His mother began, "The Prince family is having a very extravagant party in two days. Every influential pureblood family will attend and children are expected to be there."

"I must go," his father said all of a sudden glancing down at the strange watch in his hand, "Your mother will explain to you our expectations."

"Good night," his mother said steely.

"Good night, father," Sirius said his mind still buzzing He hadn't understood the point of the story at all or where they were going with the whole discussion.

"As I was saying, all children will be in attendance and that includes you, Sirius. The news of your sorting has had months to circulate. Your absence from all of the Christmas parties spoke ill of our family. We will attend this party as a family unit. We have all been fitted for our matching robes and you will be fitted tomorrow."

His mother gave him a cold smile, "You will behave. You will respect everyone. You will remember your manners. You will not start fights, verbal or physical with anyone under any circumstance. There will be questions and you are not to argue with anything anyone says to you. Your status in the pureblood world is right now shaky, but trust me my son by the end of the party they will be begging to be your friend on the train back to Hogwarts."

Sirius didn't understand why the defiance he had felt at the beginning of the lecture seemed to be ebbing with each second. The words were in his head, on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't find the strength to voice them.

"And if you disobey…well I am not going to list the punishments since I believe you really are sorry for all your mistakes this year. I believe that you are stopping this phase of yours because you are intelligent enough to realize the futility of going against us. You may address any questions now."

"Can I write letters to James, Remus and Peter this summer, mother?"

"You will be allowed to write each of them a letter_ if _you behave at the party. In that letter you will explain why you cannot write to them anymore, why you can't see them anymore, and what horrible parents you have if you wish. And if you disobey, I will write a personal letter to each of your friends. I doubt if you let me write the letters that you will still have them as friends. You will bathe in the morning before the fitting, you are to go straight to bed, get out of my sight!"

Sirius turned to leave, and then stopped, "Mother?"

"Yes," there was not a trace of patience in her voice.

"If I behave, will I receive all my privileges back?"

"Privileges?" she laughed, "You will be lucky if even two of them are restored by the end of the summer. These things take time, Sirius, and it won't be easy for you but I have full confidence that soon we will be proud once more to call you our son."

Sirius quickly ran out of the office. He was stupid to suppose that his behavior during one party would erase all his wrong doings.

He went straight to his room. He was surprised to find his suitcase from Hogwarts on his bed still unpacked. He opened it up silently and on the top he noticed an unmarked envelope.

He hadn't remembered putting that in there. He tore the top open taking the letter out.

_Dear Sirius,_

_Surprise! We thought we'd write you a letter. Hopefully you will be able to read this. Our first year may have started out rocky, but it turned out to be a fantastic year. Hope your summer isn't terrible. Peter is going to France and Remus will be visiting some relatives in the countryside for the summer. I'll just be home, most likely bored out of my mind. And no matter what happens, remember we'll always be friends._

_Your friends,_

_James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew_

The second page was not an additional letter, but a photograph an older student had taken. It was of the four of them sitting by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. Sirius sat mesmerized by the photo. He had to behave, if nothing else but to ensure his friends wouldn't hate him.

Kreacher appeared into his room, "Nasty little brat! Give Kreacher that!"

Kreacher snatched the letter and photograph. Sirius's trunk also vanished. He fished inside the pockets of his school robes for his wand. He had been surprised when his mother hadn't immediately taken ownership of it.

It was gone as well. Feelings of loneliness and helplessness assaulted Sirius. As he lay down on his bed, he closed his eyes thinking back to happier times. Sirius fell asleep with a slight smile on his face.

**Thanks for Reading and Review if possible. **

**More A/N: I decided to use the information about learning Snape is a half-blood in my story. Before I read HBP I was under the impression that Snape was a pure-blood, but skimming over my story I don't think I ever specifically addressed that issue, so I decided to throw that idea in this one with having the Prince family being a prestigious pure-blood family. I figured it would make it interesting. And even though we now know Bellatrix is the oldest, than Andromeda, and then Narcissa I'm just going to go with the opposite order as with my first story because it isn't vital to the story**

**On HBP, I did enjoy the book, though it was not my favorite. I felt it was written very differently from all the other books, which was good because it did set up things for the 7th book. I just missed seeing characters like Neville and the DA and we really haven't learned anything new about Harry's parents, which I was really hoping we would.  
**

**Here are the replies to the reviews from the last chapter of Footsteps in Time: Year 1:**

**Kylaaa: **thanks, I was hoping to end the year with something interesting and I'm glad you liked how I did it. Sorry this update is a little later then middle of august

**BrennQT: **Thanks so much and yea it was sad even for me to finish off the first year, at one point I was like I could write more and more, but I did want to save certain things for the other years…and Sirius will be ok, though being ok and having an unpleasant time are two very different things

**Moraq Camshron:** I happy to hear how realistic this story seemed because I was aiming for that. It really is annoying when Sirius and James become best friends instantly, that rarely happens in real life…there will be some more with Stone of Het Lot, though not too much

**The Egyptian Sand Quill: **interesting name and thanks for the review

**Everkitsune: **haha, I think we'd all like to lock up Mr. and Mrs. Black, but it is fun to write Sirius's struggles, thankfully he was great friends like James, Remus, and Peter (well until he does you-know-what)…thanks for reading…and for my thoughts about HBP, see above

**Shadow929: **haha, yes they are one of a kind…thanks for reading

**Jeanne2: **thank you, at first I was just going to end it without putting the whole subplot of the Stone of Het Lot, but I do think it added something to the chapter and I was really happy with the way it turned out and its good to hear that you feel the ending was well done

**Mokana Deh Bunny: **Thanks! I hope you enjoy the sequel as well

**Moony391: **yes I am  ! hope you enjoy it

**JoJo: **sorry its taken longer than I expected to update, but I did want the first chapter to be good, thanks for the review


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter world and all its characters**

**A/N: Sorry for the really really really long wait, but my workload is absolutely crazy and combined with writer's block it was very hard to get this chapter completed to my satisfaction. I had it all planned in my head for awhile, but I could never get the wording to express exactly what I wanted. And I didn't want to just post it half finished just for the sake of posting something. **

**Well enjoy….**

Sirius slept horribly his first night back home. His bedroom no longer held the comfort it had only a year before. He missed the familiar surroundings of the Tower.

Sirius awoke to rain drops splattering all over his window. The gray rain clouds only increased the gloomy glow of the room.

Sirius was currently lying in bed on his back He was throwing a stuffed toy quaffle up in the air and then catching it.

Downstairs Sirius could hear yelling and bunches of loud banging. He threw the quaffle up with as much strength as he could muster. It hit the ceiling with a loud thud and came down into his hands.

He unsuccessfully ignored the increasing noise approaching his room. He physically turned his body away from the door just as his mother burst into the room.

"Get up! You lazy boy!" his mother yelled still clad in her bedtime garments. She looked upset.

Sirius sat up slowly, "Morning, Mother." He hadn't come downstairs yet so what possible had he done to aggravate his mother now.

"On your feet, boy. Get your hair brushed and shoes on."

"Bu I thought I was supposed to have my fitting today."

"You are, but I was just informed they were unable to do house calls today! Last time I give them my business."

Sirius felt his spirit rise. Even if it was to visit some stuffy dress robe shop at least he would be leaving the house for awhile. Anything would be better than being stuck in his dreary room all day.

So his mother left him at the doorstep of _Got Robes?_ instructing him to meet her in one hour near the Quidditch Supply Store. Sirius stood silently under the awning of the store watching his mother towing his younger brother along the street. Sirius noticed she was heading towards Knockturn Alley.

He breathed in the fresh air. He had an hour of freedom. His mother must have something really important to attend to since she had left him unguarded.

Sirius finally opened the door to the shop. A bell could be heard ringing in the distance alerting the presence of a customer. The store was empty except for a girl around his age. She was folding brightly colored fabric.

She had blonde hair and brown eyes. She stared at Sirius before asking rudely, "Do you have an appointment?"

Before he could answer, a second girl burst from the back of the room. She had the same color hair and eyes, except she was a bit rounder.

"Mr. Black, come in. My name is Marissa Slavo. My mother has been expecting you. Can I take your cloak?" she looked at him eagerly. Sirius could only stare dumbly.

"I bet he wouldn't let someone _like _you touch it. I bet it costs more than mother makes in a month!" the girl folding the fabrics said without looking up.

Apparently the girls were expecting a rich snobby kid and Sirius realized he could have some fun with this.

He tossed it off carelessly to Marissa, "If you get the slightest bit of dirt on it, you'll be hearing from my mother."

"I told you so…" the other girl muttered under her breath.

Sirius twirled around, "Are you trying to loose my mother's business?"

The girl met his eyes with an icy glare, "We don't need business from people like you?"

"From people like me?" Sirius repeated.

"Rich, snobby families, who think they are better than everyone else because of some money. I'd rather starve than have to bow down to the likes of you!"

"Please Mr. Black, do not listen to my sister, Tessa. She's not right in the mind and she hasn't learned her manners. We are _honored _to serve you."

Sirius ignored Marissa. He was much more interested in her sister, Tessa, "So if I was just a poor boy with tattered robes you wouldn't act like this?"

"Exactly. You would be worthy of my courtesy and service," Tessa said her fists clenching the green cloth in her hands tightly.

"Aren't you being hypocritical?"

"I know all about the Blacks. Convinced you're royalty."

"So you know all about me, eh?"

"Yes."

Sirius walked straight toward her and she took in a quick breath because he was only inches from her face, "Lucky for you, all you _know _is wrong, otherwise no one would shop in this store ever again."

"Mr. Black…please," Marissa looked as if she was about to cry.

"Am I going to be fitted already? I do have other things to do!" Sirius said loudly losing his patience.

Marissa nodded and raced to the back of the store.

Sirius turned toward Tessa once more, "Just a suggestion, but maybe you should treat everyone, rich or poor, the same. You might find your customers more agreeable."

A woman a few years older than his mother finally emerged from the back room.

"Mr. Black, I apologize once more for your wait. I am Mrs. Slavo and I will be doing the fitting."

He was quickly put upon a stool as enchanted measuring tapes circled around him.

First Sirius was fitted for a white collared shirt. It was made of a soft light weight material. A robe was placed over the shirt. The first of the six claps on the robe were located near the middle of his chest so that the shirt beneath could be seen. The robe was a dark midnight blue with small silver swirls. The robe also had a silver decoration along the bottom lining. Then a cloak made of a slightly heaver midnight blue material was placed over the robe. At his neck an elaborate clasp adorned with the family crest was secured.

"You look very handsome," Mrs. Slavo said still fiddling with pins and threads, "I just need to do a few more alterations. Please inform your mother the robes will be delivered to your house this afternoon."

The fitting took up most of his hour, so he only had about ten minutes to spare before he was supposed to meet his mother and brother. As Sirius walked by the Quidditch Supply Store, he thought fleetingly about James's obsession with the game. He couldn't understand how life had become so complicated. Would he have to choose by the end of this summer between his friends and his family obligation?

* * *

The day of the party started ominous. Sirius overslept, there was a mysterious tear in one of his robes which he had to ask his mother to repair for him (after she shrieked at him for 10 minutes), and he had awoken with a headache. 

His mother instructed the house-elves to help them dress for the party. Sirius had to grimace as the old, wrinkled gray hands of the house-elf touched his skin and combed his hair. Sirius wished Kreacher had been assigned to him instead of Regulus. As much as he disliked Kreacher at least he didn't smell as badly and didn't have skin so wrinkled and brittle that it looked as if any moment it would fall off.

Once dressed, Sirius followed Regulus into the pallor where their parents were awaiting them. Mr. Black was dressed in robes identical to his sons, except the blue in his cloak was a shade lighter. Mrs. Blacks dress had the same silver swirl design as her sons' robes.

"My son's," Mr. Black said holding his arms out in welcome.

"Morning, father," Regulus said a smile.

"Morning, sir," Sirius said bowing in unison with Regulus.

"I have little doubt that we will be the best dressed family at the party. I highly doubt a single guest will be able to resist giving us their absolute attention. It is about time that we Blacks earn the respect we deserve. There are few families as pure as ours. I remember when I was your age, Sirius…"

Sirius looked at his father with apprehension. Every conversation with his parents was lately turning into a lecture or a lesson. Sirius already understood the importance of this event and he was more than glad to be _seen and not heard_.

"This…" his father continued motioning to the entire room, "This is exactly what I dreamed about: having a title, a pureblood marriage, two heirs and the respect that rightly belongs with all those accomplishments. And today will be one of many important steps in order for you to accomplish those very same goals."

"It's exactly what I want too, sir," Sirius found himself saying, "I'm sorry about disgracing the family name."

"We know you're sorry, Sirius," his father said almost kindly, "Prove to us, son that you are a true Black."

"I will…" Sirius said and as he trailed off he noticed on the table in front of him sticking under a pile of letters was a corner of a picture. The head of a messy black haired boy kept darting in and out of the corner. He was waving madly at Sirius.

Sirius felt his stomach jolt with surprise. Every time he started feeling pride for being a Black, it seemed he was somehow reminded of the Potters. He desperately wondered if it was feasible to be a _true _Black and be friends with James Potter.

Sirius hadn't been lying about his shame for disgracing the family name. It had never been his intention, but that didn't mean he agreed with them in other areas.

"Sirius?" his father called to him suddenly and Sirius forced himself to focus his eyes somewhere else. He didn't want them knowing that he had seen the picture of his Gryffindor friends.

"Sorry, father."

"I was saying that many of the guests are going to be interested in you and your loyalty. Should anyone ask you about your sorting or your personal thoughts, you will always reply that _you are loyal to the Black family and that you uphold all pureblood philosophy_. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"And Regulus, if anyone asks you about your brother you will answer with the same response. Sirius is loyal to the Black family and Sirius upholds all pureblood philosophy. Your mother and I will handle the finer details."

"Yes, father," Regulus said, "Should I mention the part about…"

"No," Mr. Black shouted cutting his younger son off, "Say what I told you and excuse yourself politely. No matter what you hear. I don't want either of you fighting verbally or in any other way."

"Can I bring my wand, sir?" Sirius asked.

"No," his mother said hoarsely, "You are underage and there _will _be no reason for you to use it. All temptation will be eradicated this way."

Sirius was fairly certain all the other pureblood children would have wands. The Ministry was very lax about underage magic with the prestigious pureblood families.

Mr. Black went to one of the drawers on the table, "Ah before I forget, Regulus, I have a gift for your good behavior."

Regulus grinned widely as Mr. Black opened up a familiar box. Inside of it was the same ring his father had given Sirius on his first day at Hogwarts. More importantly it was the same ring Sirius had also mailed back home.

Regulus shot Sirius a look to see his opinion on the matter.

"I believe you are responsible enough to take great care of this. It has been passed on from father to son since the beginning of the Black line. This is a great honor."

"Thank you, sir! I am _very_ honored," Regulus uttered carefully placing the ring on his finger.

Sirius felt his face grow warm and it didn't help that Regulus kept glancing at him triumphantly. Sirius couldn't help but feel jealous. For the first time, he questioned himself about the motives for mailing the ring back in the first place.

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black arrived at the party via portkey. Each invitation turned into a portkey for a brief period of time. Witches and Wizards of age could also apparate if they were so inclined.

As they each placed a hand on the beautifully decorated card, his father said loudly, "Toujours Pur". Sirius felt the familiar tug at his navel and the world blurred around him.

* * *

They arrived at an elaborately decorated outdoor enclosure. The whole area was decorated in sliver and white creating a very mystical feeling. Sirius and Regulus dutifully followed their parents through the entrance. The moment the four of them stepped inside, a voice from above boomed, "The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, Toujours Pur."

His father had been correct that their presence would be immediately noticed. There was a notable hush of voices and quickly the level of noise increased again now full of gossip and assumptions about the recent arrivals.

Sirius felt very exposed, but his father looked ecstatically thrilled at the attention. Though many people migrated toward them, it took a few moments for anyone to approach them and Sirius could see his father was getting agitated.

The Minister of Magic was the first to approach his parents and he could feel the jealousy in the air from the other families. His parents did not try to hide the honor bestowed on them. The smug glow on their faces from having the Minister personally acknowledge them could hardly be missed.

As the Minister and his parents chatted about world politics it gave Sirius a moment to look around.

The ceiling glittered and the walls were covered with expensive silver chandeliers with glowing candles. A little bit farther ahead a table adorned with delicate embroidery bearing the Prince family crest. On the table was the guest registry and name cards with the table name each guest would be seated for dinner.

After talking with the Minister for a few minutes, Sirius's father brought them over to the table. When they each called out their name, the table they would be seated flashed up. His parents were seated at table Salazar, while Sirius and Regulus would be eating at table Serpent reserved for all underage wizards.

A wizard named Mr. Nicolas Pason, who Sirius was unfamiliar with, was the first to ask about Sirius's placement in Gryffindor. He had a large belly and was wearing a tall top hat.

Immediately his mother and father fell silent as well as people within earshot. Mr. Pason was one of the few people who had the courage to ask the one question on everyone's mind in the presence of formidable Mr. and Mrs. Black. It was no wonder that many guests were so nervous around his parents when they marched around the manor as if it was their own house.

"Sir, I am loyal to the Black family and I uphold all pureblood philosophy."

The words sounded hollow and rehearsed to Sirius, but when the round wizard smiled cheerfully and said, "You've raised him well," Sirius allowed himself to breathe.

Mr. Pason elaborated, "I for one could not believe those ghastly rumors. I told them it would take more than a Gryffindor sorting to change the very essence of what being a Black means. Your sons might enjoy the company of the younger wizards. They are all in the room to your left," the man continued.

"May we, sir?" Regulus asked his father quietly keeping his eyes on the floor.

Sirius was surprised to see his father give his approval. He had expected to be under their watchful eye the entire dinner.

Once they entered the room, Sirius noticed that the population inside consisted of mainly Slytherins or once-Hogwarts-age-would-be-Slytherins. Everyone's heads swiveled in their direction as the brothers entered, but their conversations continued as if they were not there.

Regulus colored a bit and looked at Sirius accusingly. Sirius could have cared less about the way the other families treated them, but Regulus like his parents believed everyone should treat them as royalty.

Eventually Alyssa Malfoy, entering Hogwarts in the fall, asked Regulus a question and. Regulus jumped at the chance. Soon his brother was bragging with the rest of the spoiled rich bunch, leaving Sirius time to think.

And the thinking only made him remember how much he missed hanging late at night with the Gryffindors who talked about things other than how wealthy their families were.

"So Sirius where are you going for vacation?" Alyssa Malfoy asked coyly.

"None of your business," he answered coldly. He needed get out of the room or he might regret what came out of his mouth next.

"Well…" Alyssa continued, "My brother, you know Lucius Malfoy is taking me and his fiancé, Narcissa Black…."

Sirius never actually heard where she was going on vacation because he was out the door in a flash.

His brother noticed his absence right away and chased after him.

Sirius waved him back, "Regulus, I'll be back in awhile."

"But Sirius, mother and father said we were to stay together. You can at least pretend some of these subjects hold your interest. They are all children of the families you will be dealing with once you inherit the family fortune."

"I highly doubt mother and father meant for you to follow me to the bathroom."

"Is that where you're going?"

"Yes."

"If you don't return soon, I'll come looking for you," Regulus warned.

"It's a big house I might get lost. And if I stay in hear any longer I might insult someone. How can you stand it?"

"It was a simple question Alyssa Malfoy asked you. I don't see why you had to be so rude. Our cousin is marrying into that family."

"I don't care."

"I know," Regulus said sadly, "But you should and that's the problem, isn't it? Just stay out of trouble."

* * *

After opening various doors finding only guests rooms, he found the Prince's study. It looked very much like his parents study except double the amount of books.

The first section of books was mainly about gaining power and moving up in the world.

The second section held books about the Dark Arts. They were books mainly on spells and curses. Sirius was sure most of them could be considered _dark magic_.

The last section held books about purity with titles such as:

_In a World Unpure What is a Wizard to Do?_

_Muggle Hunting: The Lost Sport_

He selected a book at random from the shelf. It was purple and did not have a title. He was about to open it when a movement in the corner startled him.

"Who's there?" he called his hand instinctively going to his pocket where is wand should be if it hadn't been confiscated.

No one answered and Sirius cautiously moved toward the sound. It had come from behind the desk.

As he looked over the desk, a wand was suddenly at his throat.

"Don't move!" a voice snarled, "Speak only your name."

"Sirius Black."

"Black!" a pale boy stood up quickly drawing his wand back, "How did you get in here?"

"The door was open, Snapelous."

At the mention of his nickname, Snape had his wand pointed directly at Sirius again.

"I suggest you not insult me when you are wandless!" Snape snarled.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You shouldn't even be allowed in here. The doors are charmed to only let _worthy _wizards inside."

"That's not surprise. If the doors think you're worthy, why wouldn't I be?"

"It's always such a pleasure taking with you, Black."

"So what are you doing here? Your grandparents are the hosts."

"I could ask the same of you. Did your parents actually allow you attend such prestigious event? I'm surprised you haven't messed it up already. I would have expected you to blow something up by now."

"I know all about you," Sirius said smugly.

"About what?"

"About your father," Sirius said carefully weighing each word.

Snape definitely turned paler though he pretended the words how no effect on him, "My father is ill tonight that is why he was unable to attend."

"I suppose that is _why _you're hiding. Your grandparents are ashamed of you, ashamed of who your mother married. I know your father is a muggle and I know you're nothing more than a _half-blood_!"

"No!" Snape bellowed his wand shooting out sparks and then hissed, "How did you find that out?"

"My mother let it slip. Apparently I'm supposed to learn a lesson from your mother's past mistakes. How does it feel Snapelous, to end the ever so pure Prince line with your birth?"

"Be quiet!"

"Wait until I tell everyone…"

"That's rich…I thought Gryffindors don't care about _blood_…" Snape said recovering a little bit his dignity.

"It doesn't matter what I think because I know plenty of your fellow housemates that will."

"You wouldn't…"

"Wait a minute; I thought some people knew…."

"Only the parents know, not their children. My grandparents…"

"Paid them off, I know,"

"I expect you not to breathe a word, Black."

"Why should I not tell them?"

"Because you're a _noble _Gryffindor…"

"I don't owe you anything."

"If you keep your silence than I will owe you…"

"And you would honor that oath? Slytherins aren't exactly known for being virtuous."

"Yes," Snape said the word so softly that it was barely audible.

"No," Sirius said simply.

"No what?" Snape asked the patience in his voice was fading.

"No, I won't make any agreement with you. You just remember what I know the next time you insult me about my family or take a dig about my loyalty because before you know it the entire school will know about your heritage."

Sirius felt a prickle of guilt as he said these words. He was angry at Snape, but he knew it wasn't completely right to use Snape's dirty blood against him.

Though the fact that Snape was a half-blood and believed in the blood hierarchy yet he still felt he could talk to Sirius that way_ did_ bother Sirius. Sirius had learned his first year at Hogwarts that blood did not go hand and hand with skill, but surely Snape could not think he was better than any Black.

Any further discussion was abruptly stopped as company arrived. Apparently the doors felt most of the guests were worthy of the room's contents. Snape looked aggravated as the room filled up with the same people Sirius had been avoiding.

"Mr. Black, I see your brother was right that you are indeed hiding from us," Lucius said his voice silky and controlled.

Sirius nodded nonchalantly feeling Snape's eyes bore in the back of his head. He noticed everyone was looking at him with more interest than he would have liked.

"I just needed some fresh air."

"In this stuffy study?" Alyssa Malfoy asked with a tittering laugh. A few other girls laughed along with her.

"I _was _outside for a bit and than I noticed Snape among these books and figured I should share a few words with him."

"Yes, well Snape has always preferred the solitude of knowledge. Not that his thirst for dark magic has not come in handy," Malfoy said, "You cannot hide from us any longer Sirius Black. The truth has surfaced and your rightfully deserve much praise for your service."

"What truth?" Sirius asked blankly.

"You cannot play dumb with us anymore Black. Malfoy heard it directly from your mother and father's lips," one of the Lestrange brothers said.

"What did you hear Malfoy?" Snape asked his beady black eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Tell him Sirius," Alyssa said smiling prettily, "And then we all want to know the gritty details."

"I really don't know what you're talking about," Sirius said truthfully though the butterflies in his stomach were fluttering full swing now.

"Now is not the time to be modest," Malfoy said, "Not many of us could have survived a whole year undercover in Gryffindor!"

"What!" both Sirius and Snape uttered at the same time.

Now everyone in the room was staring at him waiting eagerly for his response.

Sirius rounded on Malfoy, "You heard this from my parents!"

Thankfully Malfoy mistook his anger. He thought Sirius was angry at the fact that his cover had now been blown.

His mother's words spoken a few days before surfaced in his mind, _"Your status… right now shaky, but trust me… by the end of the party they will be begging to be your friend …."_

At the time Sirius had not picked upon the subtle message.

Though Malfoy had continued to talk, Sirius still in shock at the revelation only heard key words such as "trick the Sorting hat", "Howler sent for effect" and "things he had to endure to gain the Potter boy's trust".

A girl three years older than Sirius said, "It's a shame you couldn't have stayed undercover longer because it would have dealt a harder blow on the James Potter. That family was always too trusting. It is time they see the price you pay for believing there is _good_ in everyone."

It took every bit of Sirius's strength not to blurt out the truth. Sirius realized it would be absolutely disastrous to do so. He doubted anyone would believe him and if they did the consequences would be disastrous. Sirius would not hurt the family name even more by publicly calling his parent's liars.

"Why would Black pretend to be a Gryffindor and James Potter's friend?" Snape asked. Sirius had a feeling Snape was seeing through the ruse.

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Severus," Malfoy spat

"How could you stand living with that filth?" Alyssa asked, "I would have never lasted even a day!"

Snape though was not biting, "Have you forgotten how close Potter and Black where? Have you forgotten how he hexed, insulted and embarrassed the Slytherins!"

"I had to," Sirius found himself saying, "I didn't want my cover blow. And it was awful at first sharing a Common Room with all that un-pure blood, which was why it took me a long time to gain their trust. They could tell I didn't really want to be there. And the Gryffindors do trust too easily. I just had to wait for an opportunity where I could act nobly and Potter was begging me to be his friend."

His words seemed to satisfy them all. All expect Snape who was shaking his head in disbelief.

Sirius would worry about him later. His parents had known he would react this way he realized and this worried him above anything else. They would have not taken the risk otherwise.

"Well you'll be a hero in Slytherin next year," the other Lestrange brother remarked, "I wish I could be there when Potter finds out you've been duping him all year."

"I didn't know my cover was blown" Sirius asked trying to keep the fact that this really bothered him out of the tone of his voice.

"I'm sure the Potters will hear about it first thing in the morning. I saw one or two of their friends in attendance and it does seem your trickery is the topic of the party," Malfoy said, "Shame you couldn't tell him to his face, eh?"

"Err…yea…" Sirius muttered.

The rest of the party consisted of him answering questions about his time in Gryffindor. Suddenly everyone wanted to talk to him and to hear exactly how the other side lived.

Sirius sighed with relief when they were all forced to sit down to eat dinner. By making sure his mouth was full most of the time, he only had to nod and grunt rather than talk about his experience.

Sirius hurriedly joined his mother and father when it was time to start saying goodbye to everyone. All the questions were beginning to grate on his nerves. So when he placed his hand on the invitation once more, instead of the apprehension he had felt at the begging of the day, all he felt was a sense of relief that the party was over.

Safely back in the Black manner, Sirius was startled when his father patted him affectionately on the shoulder.

"My son, I've never been prouder! You've finally acted like a true, Black. Welcome back to the family."

The words Sirius had been waiting to hear since the start of his Hogwarts year, suddenly made him grow cold.

_Why did he suddenly feel so ashamed?_

**A/N. Thanks for reading…if you can please leave a review. Each and every one will be appreciated. **

**As for when the next chapter will be posted, the earliest in two weeks and the latest in five weeks.**

**EverKitsune:** well its great to see people so eager to read my story…haha…and I'm sorry this update took so long, but things happen, so what can you do…the important thing is that I did eventually update, right? Haha…well I'm glad I made Snape's history believable because I think that new detail about him makes him even more interesting character than before

**brennQT:** well in the end Sirius didn't have a completely awful time at the party…but some interesting things did develop for him and Sirius is starting to finally see some important thing and I'm glad you liked that bit from Regulus's pov…hmmm I wonder if he is R.A. B.

**Mokona Deh Bunny**: hehe…Sirius's parents always have something nasty planned for him…poor guy…Sirius did sort off behave himself, but as you can see making his family proud is not analogous with Sirius feeling good about himself

**Mozambique:** I'm glad you enjoyed both my stories and that you find Regulus and Sirius's relationship so interesting because I definitely plan on continuing to right about it. And their relationship will off course play a bigger part in the story, once Regulus goes to Hogwarts

**EsScaper:** Yea it does seem strange that Sirius would even consider taking up his family's plans, but as you said he's still young and his family is still important, but he's definitely making progress toward eventually completely cutting himself when he runs away at the age of 16. His parents are going to find out that all their pushing and prodding to get Sirius to be the perfect heir, is going to do the complete opposite

**Jojo:** thanks for the review! When you're a marauder (or a marauder-to be) there's always trouble ; )

**kyLaaa:** yes…in book seven Harry's return to Godrics Hallow will definitely be interesting, maybe we'll finally find out exactly what happened the night Harry received that scar

**Kathrina-B:** thanks for the review and their will be more Sirius-Regulus interaction as the summer progresses

**Shadow929:** I know, Book 6 was really sad, I'm actually just starting to read over the 6th book again…thanks for your review

**Paige-rossi-Black:** haha…yes Mrs. Black is one of a kind…thankfully…thanks for the review and please keep reading

**Potterscar:** thank you so much…I really hate it when characters are well out of character and I'm happy to hear everyone is in character in my story…and Regulus is a very interesting character especially if he turns out to be the elusive R.A.B.

**Moony931:** thanks for the review, I'm glad you're continuing to read sequel

**Anonymous (name was left blank):** thank you very much! I think its important to remember that as much as Sirius _hates _his family in later life, at one time I believe he wanted their approval. And I think this struggle makes a very interesting story…well hopefully it does since I'm writing it, hehe


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world or any of the character in it.**

**A/N: Well this update took a whole lot longer than originally planned. Real life happened and there wasn't much I could do. And this is really just a part update because I wanted to add more too it, but with two tests, lab report, and a project due all before thanksgiving I would not have time to write and edit it. So I figured any update is better than waiting until around thanksgiving. In the next chapter they will be arriving at Hogwarts. And I hope everyone is excited about the movie release of Goblet of Fire next week.**

**On with the story…**

There were times when Richard Potter wished he was a Muggle-born wizard. Not that he envied the prejudices they had to overcome nor the blissful ignorance they held of the Magic community at first.

It was just with talk brewing about blood – both sides hoping to make huge strides in their cause – it would have been a lot simpler being Muggle-born. Then he wouldn't be expected to take sides and his actions would not be scrutinized by all witches and wizards. The Potters had managed over the centuries to stay pure more out of chance than calculated marriages. His family had its share of arranged marriages and corrupt deals, but all in all it was a lineage to be proud of.

The problem was not which side Richard would take. Richard's mother and father had taught him not to put stock in blood as their parents had. He now taught his own son, James the very same values. And it wasn't exactly a secret in the wizard community for Richard had challenged many of his more traditional colleagues on blood discussions.

Speaking out on a subject like that had its consequences. Enemies of the family were starting to accumulate and once Richard had to act instead of just speak out, it would only increase.

Richard had to decide exactly how _involved _he wanted to become. Since he held a prestigious spot in the Ministry, his actions and words would not only be known but publicized. This meant his words and actions would not only affect him, but his wife and son as well.

So Richard wasn't entirely surprised to see his longtime Hogwarts friend, Jake Cowrey's head bobbing in the fireplace.

"How are you? It has been a long time," as Jake spoke there was sadness and regret in his eyes.

"I suspect this is not just a social call?" Richard asked.

"I'm afraid not," his voice grew chilled and his mouth hardened.

Memories of happier times between the two of them surfaced in Richard's mind. They were friends since birth and their friendship had even survived when Jake had not been sorted into Gryffindor like Richard, but into Ravenclaw. House differences were not enough to tarnish the ties between their two families that were decades in the making.

After graduation life had taken them on two different paths, Jake immersing himself fully in the old pureblood traditions and Richard had slowly detached himself from them.

Their choices hadn't surprised anyone. Jake was from a family who were head activists of the biggest Blood-Purity Lobby and Richard the son of two popular Aurors.

"Who wants me dead now?" Richard asked sarcastically. Jake would only have initiated contact for grave news. There was no need to pretend otherwise.

"This concerns your son…"

"James?" he asked startled. Richard knew he had enemies, but to intent harm on his son who hadn't reached puberty yet was surprising.

"I attended the Prince family party."

"Ah, yes, the Potters have not been invited to one of those for years now."

"I ask only one thing."

"That I didn't hear it from you? Still pretending our friendship never existed?"

"I am here now and that's all that matters."

"Right. So what about my son?"

"The Black boy –"

"Sirius Black?"

"Yes, rumor has it he was sorted into Gryffindor as a spy for the sole purpose of gaining your son's trust."

"That's preposterous. Sure I was surprised to hear of a Black not in Slytherin, but James hasn't stopped talking about all the things they have done and you can fake some things but…"

"When questioned Sirius Black did not deny it. My son heard him confirm it with his own ears."

"Merlin, our families have never seen eye to eye…but to go through all this trouble?"

"Now you have to ask yourself what the Blacks could gain through the boys' friendship. Anything they might want? Anything of value?"

"Don't we all have valuable things? My house is littered with ancient scrolls and texts…most of them on old magic. There are more than enough guards, charms and hexes on them I assure you. And as added security only someone immediately related to the Potter lineage could see or access them."

"But if Sirius Black asked your son to see one of these documents…"

"I see your point…"

"This is a war brewing soon my friend. Keep those items hidden. I don't think you want the other side with more of an advantage than they already have."

"I wouldn't let the side I want to see win access to certain information. As you well know some forms of magic are best left alone.'

"Warn your son. Trust is a luxury in these times that you cannot take for granted."

"And when it's time to choose sides, which side will you be on?"

"You know which side."

"It's not too late –"

"I do not want to get into an argument with you, lord knows we've discussed this enough," Jake sighed heavily, "I am sorry but I can only see good in keeping our population pure."

"Well if I cannot persuade you…"

"You cannot. There are no choices anymore. I pray we both survive what is to come, Have a good life, Richard Potter."

"And you, Jake Crowey. If you ever need anything…"

"I cannot foresee that occurring. Take care, old friend."

"Take care."

* * *

He watched the blood drip on the paper. The force holding his hand in place finally loosened and he jerked away.

Only a few minutes ago Sirius had been called to see his father. It was the day after the Prince family party and Sirius had hardly managed to get any sleep.

Without a word his father had grabbed his hand slicing it open with a knife saturating the letter in front of him. The letter was addressed to James Potter. He watched his father mutter a spell waving his wand rather dramatically over the paper. All the letters lit up and the blood disappeared.

Sirius gave his father an accusatory look.

"Don't look at me like that. It is better this way. In the end this will be less painful for the both of you. The boy must have heard about the rumor and it is only proper you send him a letter addressing it."

"Proper?" Sirius scoffed, "It would be proper for me to write it!"

"Don't worry you are. The letter will have part of your character in it. The words will rearrange themselves so the boy will believe it's from you."

"It's not the truth though!"

"Your opinion on this matter is unimportant. And you will learn as you grow older that truth is relative and holds very little importance in the real world. Especially if the lie is more appealing than the truth,"

"Why, sir?" Sirius asked his voice had grown softly swiftly, "James will hate me now."

"You gave us no other option. Unless you had some plan up your sleeve to gain back our respect. Fight us every step of the way if you want, son, but you will not succeed. Our name will not be befuddled because of your rebellion. You think your talents, your looks and your mannerisms were an accident? It was all in the breeding. Family is important. Blood is important. Traditions are important. Importance you have failed to see."

"How can I face anyone at Hogwarts next year? No one will trust me..."

"You mean the Gryffindors won't trust you and I fail to see a problem in that. You have brought his upon yourself. You will learn that people will more quickly believe the worst about a person, than the good. I highly doubt your changing colors will be that much of a surprise to most."

"And everyone believed it? The lie…" Sirius asked quickly.

"Of course they did. Your mother and I suspected they would. Most of the families are less pure than us. If our family can produce blood-traitors this increases their likelihood. They heard what they wanted to hear. The Black heir is still loyal, it was all a trick."

"I suppose I'll be in Slytherin next year."

"We hope. But it's your choice…yes you have a choice. The mud-blood loving fool Dumbledore will not allow us to force you to switch Houses. He told us the Hat would sense any forceful measures on our part."

Sirius's father stared heavily into his eyes, "I don't envy being in your shoes. You'll find that sometimes having a choice is worse than not having one at all. You could stay in Gryffindor. I'm sure _eventually _they'll get over the fact that you betrayed their trust and fooled the Potter boy, who is very popular in that circle of wizards. I'm sure _eventually _their hate will turn to indifference. Or you could be resorted into the house all Blacks traditionally go, where you will be respected, even a hero. And I can guarantee that our fellow purebloods will help stand up with you against the other houses."

His father picked up the letter and carefully rolled it, "This will be sent out in the morning."

* * *

James swerved to the right dodging his opponent, but only for a moment. James's broom was an older slower model and no matter how seamless James flew, he could not overcome this disadvantage. His mum and dad were at the present time _thinking _about getting him a new broom at the end of the summer. It wasn't as if they couldn't afford it and James sincerely hoped his parents didn't expect him to try out for the Gryffindor team with a 3 year old broom.

His opponent suddenly appeared in front of him causing James to have to stop suddenly. He spotted one of his teammates and threw the quaffle to her.

All of a sudden a bell rang off. One of his teammates had enchanted a rock as an alarm clock, so they would be alerted when it was lunch time. Playing quidditch generally caused everyone to lose track of time.

They all quickly flew down to the ground. There were six of them, so they played a three on three game. James was the youngest. The two girls that lived in the neighborhood were both going into their fourth year. The two boys were children of a friend of his father and one was going into his fifth, the other his fourth.

James had grown bored quickly over the summer and after days of complaining he was allowed to have friends over for a friendly quidditch match. They all clamored into the Potter manor. None of the children were strangers to the household and immediately headed to the kitchen. James was last to go inside. He hated to leave the outdoors. He quickly passed his father's study noticing his guests had tracked dirt on the floor.

"James?" his father called.

James froze groaning to himself. After a moment of hesitation he answered, "Yes?"

"Come in here," his father said. James reluctantly entered. He wasn't in the mood to be scolded at the moment.

"Sorry about the…"

"You are not in trouble; though get those floors cleaned before your mother sees."

"But I can't do magic outside of Hogwarts."

"Get a rag with water, it will do wonders."

"Aww, dad, can't I…"

"No and no house-elves to do the work either."

James frowned.

"So how was the Quidditch game?"

James tried not to grin, "Great, but my team wouldn't be losing if I had a faster broom…"

"You never give up on that new broom, do you?" the man grinned fondly at his son.

"Nope. Never. You might as well give in now."

"We'll see. Now I do have important matter to discuss with you. Take a seat. It's about your friend, Sirius Black."

"Is he ok?" James asked quickly

"Yes, he's fine."

"His parents just seemed dodgy. I was worried they might…well since he's not in Slytherin."

"I don't believe his parents are angry with him. It seems he tricked you into friendship."

"What?"

"I'm really sorry James. I didn't want to believe it, but I've got a half a dozen owls warning me about it and then this letter came for you from Sirius Black. I opened it already to make sure there was no jinx or curse on it."

He passed the paper toward James. Shock entered his face as he read it.

"No, it can't be!" James finally said.

"Does it sound as if Sirius wrote the letter?"

"Well, yes it sounds just like him. But I can't believe it. I mean he was, well he seemed so devastated that his family hated him. It couldn't have been an act."

"The Blacks are a cunning family. I would not be the least surprised if they taught their children how to trick and lie people into trusting them."

"But I _know_, Sirius, Dad. You didn't spend the year with him. None of it makes any sense."

"I realize this may be hard to swallow, but the facts are rather glaringly truthful. Friends of mine, who have no reason to lie to me, heard it from Sirius's mouth and the letter he sent himself."

"If he sent it himself?"

"And why wouldn't it be from Sirius?"

"I don't know."

"I know you don't want to believe it. I've always taught you to put your trust in others and judge them not by their lineage. I never thought it would be a dangerous thing, but obviously in the time we live in, you must be careful."

"But the Stone…"

"What stone?"

"Nothing," James's face colored.

"Well I suggest you tread carefully around Sirius Black and stop all correspondences."

"We never had any correspondences; this is the first letter I received from him."

"I think its best if you don't write him back."

"Why not?" James demanded.

"It would be stooping to their level and giving them the satisfaction of getting to us."

"I can't just ignore it. He's me friend."

"I understand that, but I think his letter terminated any obligations you have toward him. I don't think there is a need for second chances."

"Are you forbidding me from owling Sirius?"

He watched his Dad frown at the tone of his voice.

"I won't forbid you. I just strongly suggest you don't."

"I'm not giving up on our friendship," James said stubbornly jumping out of his seat and strolling outside his father's office, ignoring his farther shouting his name.

* * *

Sirius dreaded the lessons. The boredom was enough to drive anyone insane. The endless books that all started to sound alike. Preaching how great Purebloods were and how awful Muggles were. Embellishing on every little accomplishment a wizard had done and only mentioning the terrible things non-magical people had done. Such as their intolerance for magic and persecution of wizards..

Sirius entered the same room he entered everyday. He never dared arrive late anymore. He hadn't been given food the whole day for that transaction.

The room had now been enlarged. A table with a cage full of rats had been placed up against one of the walls.

Sirius stopped short.

His wand lay next to the cage of rats. Without thinking of the implications he charged forward clasping it tightly in his hands. A warm feeling spread over him and the wand shot out four sparks, two red and two gold.

"Welcome, nephew," a low slick voice sang. Only then did he notice his least favorite unlace standing in the corner watching him with a calculating stare.

"Uncle, good morning,"

"Today's lesson will be practical. Hogwarts will only be teaching you to defend against this type of magic, but you will be expected by your equals, superiors, and inferiors to be knowledgeable in this area."

"In the Dark Arts?"

"Yes," he said the word with a hiss, "A never ending branch of magic. There are un-endless possibilities, expect that human kind has decided to stray way from it –for the good of humanity."

"Why are you teaching it to me?" Sirius asked.

His uncle silenced his question with a glare, "I expect the same respect you would give any of your elders. Meaning you will call me Uncle or sir and you will only talk when spoken to."

"Sorry, Uncle."

"Let us begin with the throat-tightening curse. You cannot kill anyone with this charm usually. It plays a trick on the mind so you think your throat is closing and you cannot breathe, but in reality your air path is quite unobstructed. The enchantment is quite simple, but it takes some discipline of the mind, so it will be good practice for you once you move up to more dangerous spells."

His uncle strode toward the mouse cage, his wand out. Then suddenly something happened and a jet of light was headed straight towards him.

He felt his chest suddenly tighten up, he felt nauseous and dizzy. He couldn't breathe. There was so much pressure on his neck and suddenly he found himself on the floor. His wand still in his hand, sputtering and taking in huge gasps of air.

"I believe in order to completely understand a spell such as this; it should be first performed on you. Now since it is only in the mind, a more able of age wizard could fight this spell off quite quickly. It works best on someone who is unguarded and vulnerable. Now let's begin practice on those vermin."

One of the rats was plucked out and placed on the table. Sirius watched it wander, sniffing the entire surface.

His Uncle demonstrated the spell once more and Sirius watched as the rat stopped, falling on its side, its leg and tail moving feebly.

"Now your turn, Sirius."

His first attempt did nothing to the mouse, nor did his second or third, but the fourth attempt he managed to get the mouse to stop for a second, but then it continued on its way.

"Concentrate, Sirius!"

"I am, sir," Sirius gritted, but he wasn't. He still couldn't believe his Uncle had cursed him at the start of the lesson. He was still rather shaky from that experience and by no means wanted anyone else, even a mouse, to experience it.

"You need to want to cause it! Say it with meaning! Picture the airways tightening!"

Sirius scrunched his eyes and a spell hit the mouse causing it to rise and then promptly fall on the desk with a squeak.

"I thought you were supposed to be bright."

After about an hour, he was no closer to doing the spell. He had changed the mouse from blue to yellow and caused it to squeal a few times.

"Let's see how you do in a wizards duel, shall we?"

"Sir?" Sirius asked.

"A duel."

"I barely know any spells, sir."

"Wand at the ready."

Again before he had time to think, another jet of light was heading towards him. He tried to dodge it, but it hit his leg causing it to shudder uncontrollably.

The next spell by luck he dodged because he lost his balance from his unstable shuddering left leg.

"Expelliarmus!" Sirius called. They had only learned a few basic defense spells, but his Uncle blocked it with ease.

His left leg stopped trembling and just as another curse hit him; this time causing an electric shock of pain to vibrate through his body. His body was on fire one moment and the next not. He struggled to stand up and finally found salvage behind the oak desk.

"Hiding is for cowards!"

A small piece of his cloak had been showing and it sparked on fire from another well-aimed spell.

Anger began building inside of him. The odds were completely against him. Was this a form of punishment?

His Uncle continued to taunt him. Another spell hit him after it deflected off a pot breaking his arm with a loud crack; his non-wand arm now hung limply by his side.

Anger resurfaced followed by pain, but Sirius pushed the pain out of his mind. Without even thinking, without knowing what exactly he was doing, he jumped to his feet and yelled a curse straight at his uncle. His Uncle had obviously not expected it.

He watched with mixture of fascination and dread as his Uncle's face turned pale and he began gasping for air. And then his pallor went back to normal and he stood there a few seconds, both of them breathing heavily.

Then his uncle smiled at him, "Ah, so you can cast that spell, nephew. You just needed the right motivation."

"I-I-I…" Sirius stuttered. _Tricked! _Sirius cursed silently. _He'd been tricked into performing the spell._

"Class dismissed," his Uncle fixed his broken arm with a jerky swish, "Go to your room. Lunch will be delivered to you."

**Thanks for READING. Please take a moment to REVIEW.**

A/N: And a thanks to last chapters readers and reviewers.

brennQT: Undercover? Oh yes! Haha, I figured that would put a good twist into the story because I wanted to do something more than just his parents punishing him. Sirius is definitely good at heart and extremely loyal, which I think is why turning away from his family wasn't so easy, because he felt he had obligation/loyalty toward them.

kyLaaa: the friends Malfoy is referring too are mainly just nameless characters, we do meet one in this chapter. James will be mad, but hate Sirius forever…well that's highly doubtful, ; )

jojo: thanks, I enjoy writing Sirius going through all those conflicting emotions about whether he should side with the family or his friends

Mokona Deh Bunny: I'm glad you enjoyed the twist…yea I completely understand with all the schoolwork, its like each teacher thinks the one class your taking with them is the only class you are taking for the entire semester

EsScaper: well I guess it's a good thing that I shocked you about Sirius being the 'Gryffindor spy', I was debating between him going along with it or completely making a scene….well I'm glad the path I choose still worked and that you enjoyed it. Sirius still has a lot of learning/maturing/growing up to do, but obviously he will break away from them altogether in my story

Shadow929: I know, I don't want to hurt poor Sirius, but he will survive it…and with Snape I think he's on his own side (neither Voldemorts' nor Dumbledores's and picks and chooses to survive)

Katharina-B: Yes, Sirius has a big choice ahead of him. And you'll see in this chapter James's reaction. Thanks for the review

Paige-rossi-black: thanks for your review! I loathe Sirius's parents as much as everyone else, but they are fun to write about

Moony391: I'm relieved the plot was believable because I was going back and forth about Sirius going along with it or not…the Blacks are all about how everyone perceives them…thanks!

Azraeos: Thank you! I'm really glad you enjoyed it.

Boleyn: Sirius will have a lot of explaining to do to James and a big choice to make come September

Maritinkerbell: doesn't matter how long it takes you to review it, just as long as you do, lol…my computer has been giving me problems as well…you'll find out answers to all your questions soon, thanks for reading!

Everkitsune: I won't answer if Sirius will stay in Gryffindor…but I will say I'm sticking to the book (cannon) so…there's your answer. Thanks for your review.

Marie: thank you so much for your lengthy review. I actually just received your review today and I realized it has been long since I've updated, so you've pushed me to start working on it. I appreciate you taking the time to review and tell me all the aspects of the story you liked, especially about how realistic the portrayal of Sirius's struggle is. I will be covering their discovery of Remus being a werewolf and most likely after year two I will skip until year 5 (with flashbacks if needed for year 3 and 4), but I have not officially decided yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world and all its wonderful characters, places, events, etc…belong to J.K. Rowling**

**A/N: I enjoyed writing this chapter, though I didn't get to work on it as much as I wanted to because I was bombarded by exams the past few weeks. That's all for now….Enjoy!**

"Remus! Mum wants you to water the garden," his 10 year old cousin, Mary flanked by his 13 year old cousin, Emma was inching towards him.

That was the way his two cousins had been acting since his arrival. The youngest only three years old seemed to be the only one not afraid to be in his presence. At this very moment Remus was seated under a tree in the backyard playing with him. It was entirely his Aunt's fault. She had scared the other two when she had told them he was a werewolf and apparently had failed to mention he was only dangerous during the full moon.

"Alright," Remus grumbled snatching the watering container out of her hands, "Watch Robert though for me."

Emma gave him a disgruntled look but bent down to pick up her baby brother, "You better do it quickly. She looked angry."

"Angry? But I haven't done anything."

"Well you are sort of taking advantage of us, aren't you?"

Remus opened his mouth to retort but was so bewildered that he stalked off without a word.

_Taking advantage?_ If it had been up to him, he wouldn't be here at all. It wasn't his fault the basement where he usually transformed had been flooded from a summer storm. The damage had been too great for even magic to be much of help. This place, this awful farm, was the only place his parents could think of them to take refuge.

Remus quickly walked over to where the spout was located. He was about to turn the spout on when he heard his parent's voices. It was coming from the half-open window directly above him.

"I really do think Remus would rather have us stay here and spend time with him, than go off looking for a cure. None of the things have worked so far and I really doubt there is anything out there" his mother said.

"I have to try!" his father said frantically, "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't."

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known."

"It is…" his father's voice broke, "If only I hadn't offended him….If only…"

There was a moment of eerie silence.

"It's my entire fault and there's no use pretending otherwise. I wish you'd just let me tell Remus. He blames himself you know…but he was so young and it was no accident. That's why we have to keep looking. Why I have to keep looking. If we don't, he'll never have a normal life because of what I did."

"He can have a normal life. Look at the friends he's made at Hogwarts!"

"We'll see how many he has when the truth comes out about his condition. He's a _half-breed_!"

"Remus is strong…"

"You're muggle-born, you don't understand how old and deep the hatred runs against werewolves. Half the time it isn't _even_ considered murder if someone kills a werewolf when they are in human form. I won't rest until I can find him a cure; until he can be normal."

Remus wasn't even aware of letting go of the watering can, but the crash of it hitting the ground startled him back to reality.

"What was that?" he heard his father say.

Remus pressed himself against the outside wall of the house.

He didn't allow himself to take a breath until her heard his mother say, "I don't see anything. It must have been one of the cats."

As quickly as he had regained his breath, he suddenly felt his breathing increase rapidly. He fled out of fear. Fear of not knowing what to do. Fear of not knowing how to react. So he ran.

Remus raced across the backyard passing the property line until he collapsed in the middle of some neighbor's field.

It wasn't until the damp grass from the early morning rain shower was seeping through his robes that he was even able to process what he had heard.

His thoughts were all jumbled, but slowly it was all coming together.

_His father's fault…not an accident…never be normal…half-breed_

He didn't know whether to feel relief, anger, or abandonment.

Remus had always blamed himself. He'd even convinced himself that he deserved the werewolf curse because of his bad behavior as a small child.

The anger he felt was so intense that he wasn't sure who to direct it towards. What kind of person had his father angered that would take retribution by biting a toddler?

Remus kicked the ground angrily. It wasn't fair!

He knew though that his father was right about one thing; he would never be normal. And the fact that it wasn't his fault oddly only made everything seem worse and even more out of his hands.

Suddenly from up above an owl screeched before swooping down toward Remus. Remus stared at the owl momentarily and grabbed the letter. Who would be writing him? He'd only received one letter from James all summer, though Peter had written twice.

The letter was from James and the subject as before was about Sirius.

Remus sighed scanning the page of messy handwriting (James had obviously written this in a hurry) and pushed his problems momentarily out of his mind.

* * *

It was the horrible wailing noise that awoke Sirius from a deep sleep. He quickly went out to the hallway still dressed in his nighttime robes, which was against house rules. 

Regulus emerged out of his room at the same time as Sirius. Sirius noticed Regulus had taken the time to put on regular robes. Regulus gave Sirius a disgruntled look. Their relationship since the beginning of the summer was headed for a downward spiral.

"What is making that racket?" Sirius asked.

"It sounds like Kreacher," Regulus remarked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"There's going to be a beheading this morning," an icy voice from the stairway said with a laugh. It was Bellatrix, also already dressed and she looked delighted.

"Who's being beheaded?" Regulus asked looking at his older cousin with barely concealed admiration.

Narcissa, Bellatrix and Andromeda were staying for about four days while their parents attended some wizard convention in New Zealand.

Andromeda appeared, "Morning Sirius, morning Regulus," she said pleasantly. Sirius had been pleased when he heard Andromeda would be present. Though so far he hadn't had a moment alone with her and so the comfort she usually offered him was not present and he had felt cooler towards her ever since.

Andromeda passed her younger sister, "One of your house-elves perished this morning and you know how our family has that bizarre tradition of placing their heads on plaques."

Sirius rolled his eyes, but Regulus shivered. Sirius knew those heads had always bothered his younger brother. Whenever he passed the wall of house-elf heads his pace would mysteriously increase.

"So why's the stupid house-elf wailing, isn't it an _honor_?" Sirius asked.

"Your mother can't figure it out either."

"We need to go downstairs now, all of us" Narcissa said finally appearing on the stairway landing. She stood with more regality than either of her sisters and she carefully held her hand so that no one could miss her engagement ring. Lucius Malfoy had proposed to her a few weeks ago and that was all she would talk about.

"It's so early," Sirius protested. If he could figure out some charm to block out the wailing he could easily fall back asleep once more.

"Your mother insisted we all be present for the beheading, especially you Sirius," Bellatrix said, her eyes narrowing on her cousin.

Bellatrix indicated for Regulus to lead the way and he scurried down the stairs. Narcissa went after him followed by Bellatrix.

Sirius and Andromeda were suddenly left alone on the landing for the first time since her visit.

"Andromeda, where are you?" Narcissa voice called from below.

"I'm waiting for Sirius to change into something more presentable."

"Don't dawdle!" Bellatrix bellowed with a warning tone in her voice.

Andromeda whispered, "She's always ordering me around lately. She acts like she's older than me for goodness sake!"

She ushered Sirius back to his room, "Thankfully they've been both much more agreeable towards me this summer. I think it's because I allowed McNair to dance with me and fetch me a drink at one of our dull parties. They still think I might make a pureblood match."

"What about Ted Tonks?" Sirius asked.

"Sshh! Get dressed quickly…and they don't really know about him. And I'm not stupid enough to tell them the truth. Why aren't you undressing!"

"I can't while you are in the room!"

"Oh, I'll turn around. But I must talk with you."

"Go ahead."

"Have you decided about this school year? About changing Houses?"

"No…" Sirius said a bit defensively and he buttoned up a dark purple robe, "You think I should change?"

"I didn't think your mother and father would react so…I saw the room they make you do lessons in….and I heard your mother telling Bella about your lessons…"

"It's not that bad, Andy. Sure it's boring."

She turned and grabbed his arm which still had a bruise that his father or uncle had forgotten to heal, "They are hurting you and I'm worried."

"I can handle it."

"Maybe you should do what they tell you. Getting back at your mum and dad isn't worth getting hurt."

"I'm not trying to get back at them. I think under the circumstances, I'm doing the best I can. You must have heard what they did at the Prince Party."

"Yes I have. Please just let it go."

"They've practically ruined my friendship with James Potter. If I recall correctly it was you who originally told me to become friends with him and I have and look what's happened."

"Things have changed. I'm not saying you should change Houses…but you must be cautious on what you say. Don't anger your mother unnecessarily. If they throw you out where would you go? You still need their support regardless of their views. When you get old enough to support yourself, you can fight them all you want."

Sirius looked at Andromeda in disbelief, "Did they ask you to talk to me?"

She didn't answer him and she didn't look at him.

"Did they!"

"Yes. Yes, they did. I told your mother you were too stubborn to listen to reason!"

"Reason? You think I'm being disagreeable. What's happened to you?"

"Oh, Sirius! I'm just worried about you. With all this talk about purity of blood heating up, maybe you would be safer in Slytherin. No one would touch you as a Black, but if you make friends with blood traitors as the Potters, you are going to be on their extermination lists."

"I don't believe this!" Sirius faced his favorite cousin angrily.

"Maybe not happier, but safer!"

"You're dating a Muggleborn! Dating McNair would also be safer!"

"I've been saving up money, so if my parents were to throw me out, I could support myself. I've thought it through, Sirius, but you haven't. And unless I married Ted, with the Black name as tarnished as it is, I don't see them doing just that. As of now, I have no intention of marrying him."

"You said yourself last year that I would hate Slytherin. I just can't see myself…I can't just forget about the past year."

"You have to realize that things have changed, if you are going to stay in Gryffindor you have to be sure and you have to be ready to stand up for your choice. It's not like last year. You now do have a choice in which House to go in."

"I had a choice last year too, Andromeda. You know that. I was never like…I was never like anyone in the family. Not even you."

Andromda sighed heavily, "I know. I know. I wanted to make sure you understood the implications. You are the heir to the Black family and I didn't realize earlier this year what your parents were capable of doing in order to ensure your loyalty to the family. We must go downstairs before someone comes looking for us."

"I don't care! Let them come!" Sirius yelled lashing out the anger of the situation on the one person in the family that understood him the best.

"Control your anger, Sirius! I know you've been hanging out with Gryffindors and they tend to wear their hearts out on their sleeves, but you best remember you are surrounded by Blacks and they'll just take advantage of that" she grabbed his arm and practically dragged him downstairs.

As soon as Andromeda saw his mother, she let go of Sirius hastily.

"Was he not behaving again, Andromeda?" she asked not even bother to look at her eldest son.

"Er…I handled it, ma'am."

His mother now grabbed his arm twisting it slightly and forced him past the kitchen and into the outdoors.

It was really sticky and humid outside. The sun was covered by a thin layer of haze.

His mother told Andromeda to go on ahead and join the others waiting in the far left corner of their backyard.

His mother finally let go of his arm and Sirius forced himself not to rub where she had grabbed him. He would show her no weakness. "You will dig a hole for me. No magic. Go quickly! The shovel is already there."

Sirius jogged after his cousins and spotted a small hump covered with a thin cotton blanket. There was a smell of decay rising from the hump. Both Narcissa and Regulus looked pale and sick.

Kreacher was also present. He stood whimpering and he struggled against an invisible barrier that wouldn't let him nearer than 10 feet from the decaying body.

Sirius stood appraising the situation. Narcissa was whispering urgently to Bellatrix who looked as if they were attending a joyful ceremony, instead of a beheading.

"What are you waiting for?" his mother barked from behind him.

"Just paying my respects," Sirius said under his breath and though he would have liked to shovel a heap of dirt directly at his mother, he resisted the urge. He hadn't been allowed outside since the Prince family party and he knew he would be banished back inside the moment he showed a sign of rebellion.

So Sirius picked up the shovel and dug until his mother told him it was deep enough. With a wave of her wand, an ax hovered momentarily, there was a dull thump and it was over.

Regulus had covered his eyes, Narcissa had covered her mouth, Andromeda looked more shocked than disgusted, while Bellatrix smirked at everyone's reactions.

Without a glance his mother levitated the headless body straight into the hole. With a grim determination, Sirius covered the body as quickly as possible.

"Now pick up the head, Sirius. Put it in my office and wait for me."

"Pick it up?" Sirius asked unable to hide his revulsion.

"Is your hearing going as well as your sense? Pick it up!"

Sirius shook his head. He backed away. Ever since the party, it had been close to month now, he had obeyed all his parent's wishes. He couldn't take much more of it.

Sirius had never held any fondness toward their house-elves. They were a nuisance whose sole purpose in life was to yell at him, scold him and spy on his daily activities. He couldn't pretend that he wasn't glad that one of their house-elves had died.

"I can make him change his mind," Bella muttered her wand was already pointed in his direction before she had finished the sentence.

"Calm yourself, Bellatrix. Regulus, pick it up."

"But, mum!" Regulus whined.

"I'll do it…" Andromeda said striding forward.

"It must be done by one of my sons, otherwise the Black house will be cursed and Merlin knows we've had enough bad luck this year. Regulus, if you refuse this family duty, you will receive the same punishment as Sirius."

Apparently for Regulus, picking up a dead decapitated head was more desirable than dealing with a punishment because he picked it up after Andy had wrapped it up in a cloth.

"Bring it up to my office, all of you. Sirius, you stay."

Sirius watched them leave warily. Was his mother planning something so horrible that she didn't want any witnesses?

"Your behavior was appalling. You will not disobey me in public!"

"This is our property mother; we are not in public."

"You don't think your cousins will hesitate to tell your Aunt about this. I've been having to deal with her snide remarks ever since your sorting. The look on her face was priceless when she heard you were a spy."

"But I really wasn't."

"Why do you think you went along with the story?"

"I didn't want to embarrass the family even more…"

"So you suddenly developed a conscience. Suddenly developed pride in your surname…"

"I always cared! And I still do, but that won't get me sorted into Slytherin!"

Sirius hadn't meant to say that, but he had. He heard his mother take in a sharp breath. He had confirmed what they all feared and he knew it was too late to back out.

"So you've chosen have you?"

"All I know that if I put the Sorting Hat back on, I would not be able to convincingly tell it that I want to change Houses."

"Do you hate me that much?"

"It has nothing to do with that!" Sirius said loudly and lowering his voice slightly, he said, "It's where I belong. Can't I be loyal to the family in another House?"

"No. You can't, Sirius. You've broken tradition and have shamed your ancestors. Your father and I gave you a chance to make it better. You have put your father and me in a sticky situation. If you insist on going down this path, then we will have to publicly denounce your behavior to our colleagues. Is that what you want, everyone in our society against you?"

"It will only be the _people _you associate with and I hardly care for their approval."

"You'll regret that. Those people could become powerful allies. Since you are my flesh and blood, I will give you to the end of the summer to formally decide. Now about your blood-traitor friend, Potter. We received a letter from him a few weeks ago, and I didn't believe it was necessary for you to read, but here you go."

Sirius took the letter.

"Read it aloud."

_Mr. Black,_

_Congratulations on a job flawlessly executed. I suppose even acts of treachery and deceit should be recognized. Perhaps my first impression of you was correct – A Black in heart and soul. Your family line has destroyed and corrupted many witches and wizards and our broken friendship will be viewed as just another casualty. You did something unforgivable. Trust is something not easily given and once it's broken, it may be gone forever. I still feel sorry for you. What sort of parents would ask you to do that? Please accept my apologizes in advance if I act as if you don't exist. I will refrain from cursing you into bits. I wish I could take the last year back. I wish I could erase the laughter, memories and trust we shared. I don't want to see, speak or breathe the same air as you. Ever. Stay away from me, Black. Stay away from my friends! Stay away from Gryffindor."_

_-James Potter_

Sirius tried to keep his composure. He knew he wasn't successful by the satisfactory expression spreading across his mother's features.

"So this is the kind of boy you want to be friends with?" his mother laughed devilishly.

Sirius had trouble finding his voice. His throat had gone dry

"Well I guess you don't have such a close friendship at all if he distrusts you so easily. First you will apologize to your cousins and brother for your disgraceful outburst. Your lessons will continue. You will have no breakfast or lunch today and if you behave throughout the remainder of the day I may allow you to have dinner. Is that clear?"

"Yes mother," Sirius choked out. Sirius wanted at add that James _didn't mean it_, that James wrote those horrible words because he felt _angry _and _betrayed _but if Sirius could barely convince himself of that, he couldn't possible convince anyone else.

"And I will talk to your father about starting corporal punishment. I don't think the lessons are nearly having the effect on you as we hoped, so we may have to resort to other measures."

Sirius was barely listening to his mother as she rambled on some more. The words of the letter kept repeating in his mind. It hadn't registered in his mind yet that his punishments were suddenly going to get much more severe and his stay much more unpleasant.

* * *

Peter bounded up the stairs of the creaky bookstore. He had been helping his mother take care of their bakery and sweet shop in Diagon Alley ever since his parents had revealed to him that they were having a baby. 

He could hear her voice, _"Oh isn't it exciting, Peter. A new baby is just what we need to liven up the house. It's been so quite since you've gone to Hogwarts. Just think about all the things you can teach your little brother or sister. They'll look up to you off course. You'll be a big brother at last!"_

Peter had attempted to act thrilled by the idea, but so far he hadn't exactly minded being the only child. Peter knew Sirius had a younger brother and from his tales he could be a right pain.

Peter was glad to be out of the shop. All the customers seemed to want to talk about was the arrival of the new baby. It was as if he didn't matter at all. Even when his marks for the term had arrived by owl, Peter didn't even think his father had noticed that he had passed all his exams.

His mother had given him an hour break. With a bag full of money that he had been saving, he hurried to the bookstore where he remembered seeing a rather large book on the breaking of Ancient curses in Egypt.

As a little boy he had imagined going on grand adventures, battling mummies and ghosts of the deceased. In his imagination he was always very brave and could always easily avoid trouble.

He reached the last step almost tripping over himself. He could hear three voices carrying rather loudly in one of the corners. As much as he would have liked to avoid the voices, they were right near where the book he wanted was located. As he got closer he noticed one of the boys had very familiar messy black hair.

The two boys with him were older and taller and Peter strained his ears to hear what they were saying.

"We have your back, Potter," the one with dirty blond hair said.

"My back?" James asked frowning slightly.

"If the Black boy tries anything," the other with brown hair answered.

"You heard about that?" James asked his frown deepened.

"I think everyone in _our _circle as well as _their _circle has heard about it. I mean it; we're behind you if he tries anything. We have your back. If you want we can even hex him first before he even dares to attempt it."

"Er- thanks. I don't think that will be necessary though." James looked embarrassed now.

James turned to look in the distant and his eyes met Peter's gaze.

"Peter!" James called out more joyfully than Peter had ever heard him, "I'll catch up with you lads later."

James walked over quickly to Peter and practically dragged him to the other side of the bookstore.

"Idiots!" James said looking exasperated.

"Were they not offering to help you?" Peter asked with a twinge of jealousy. Those two boys would have never offered to help him; they clearly respected James and he didn't even appreciate it.

"They're only talking to me because of who I am. And I'm perfectly capable of hexing Sirius all on my own! This shouldn't be between anyone but Sirius and me."

"Aren't they in Gryffindor though?"

"Well, yes. Sirius's job was to get me to trust him, not the other Gryffindors, so it shouldn't matter to anyone, but me."

"He was my friend too," Peter said sulkily.

James grinned, "I give you permission to hex him with me then."

Peter wasn't sure what to say, so he just laughed.

"So what are you doing here?" James asked.

"I was on a lunch break….so I decided to have a look around here," Peter said.

"In this musty old book store? I would have picked a more interesting shop to look in."

"Well what are you doing in here?" Peter asked defensively glad he had the foresight to not mention the book he wanted to buy. James would just laugh at him.

"My mum is robe shopping next door. I wanted to look at the Quidditch Supply store, but she wouldn't let me. She doesn't trust me in there. Says she'll find my whole bank account emptied on frivolous sports equipment."

"How long do you think she'll be?"

"She always takes forever."

Peter wished he could be a bit more specific.

"My mum has really wanted to meet you and our shop is only a block away. We can get some free cookies."

"Alright," James said, "This place reminds me of the library too much. Remus would like this place."

"Have you heard from Remus a lot?"

"No. Have you?"

"Just one letter. What about Sirius?"

"Nothing."

As they left the bookstore, Peter wondered if he had been stupid to suggest a meeting between his mother and James. His mother always seemed to have a knack in embarrassing him, but he also knew it was important to prove to his family that he had real friends.

He'd barely received any letters all summer or invitations for visits, so he had suspected that his parents believed his roommates tolerated him just because they lived together and not because they enjoyed his company.

James was very polite (his well-bred upbringing shining through, making Peter feel very childish next to him) and Peter could tell his mother was impressed.

His mother presented them with a plate of sweets in the back of the room. When she saw James only take one, she said, "Help yourself to more. Goodness you're so skinny. Now Peter here has always had extra meat on his bones."

Peter turned scarlet, but his mother if she noticed her son's discomfort ignored it.

"Thank you, Mrs. Pettigrew."

Peter was rather glad when James said he had to go meet his mother. He knew it wasn't his friend's fault, but he would never compare to the son a boy like James could be. Right outside the shop, a woman with hair as black as James's and a similar smile came towards them.

"There you are! I told you to stay in the bookstore!"

"Sorry, mum," James said though he didn't entirely sound as if he felt it, "I ran into a friend. Meet Peter Pettigrew, he's one of my roommates."

James's mother greeted him warmly. With the families Peter's parents associated with the Potters were portrayed as not being entirely real: pureblooded since the beginning of time, money, power, and still good people at heart. The type of people someone like a Pettigrew would never meet in the middle of Diagon Alley.

"I just wanted to show James the shop my mother owns," Peter said quickly.

"They had some really exotic sweets," James said.

"I hope you politely thanked Peter's mother."

"I did, mum."

James's mother looked at her son sternly and Peter wondered if she realized what a positive impression her son had made on his mother.

"Well we must get on with our shopping. It was a pleasure to meet you, Peter."

"Can Peter come along with us?"

"I can't," Peter said before Mrs. Potter could answer, "I really need to help my mother."

Peter was afraid of the types of stores they would visit. He didn't want to make it so obvious to James their difference in class because James apparently hadn't grasped it yet.

"Oh," James looked a bit put out.

Peter smiled weakly and hurried into his mother's store with barely a goodbye.

His mother smiled at him fondly upon his return, "Such a nice boy! I'm so glad you've made friends with such a great role model."

Peter nodded and went to wipe down some tables. His mother's high opinion of James was grating his nerves. He really wanted to blurt out that James had received more detentions than any other first year, but he held it back and just wiped the table a little harder than it needed to be.

**A/N: As always, thanks for reading and please review. I already replied to all reviewers who signed-in through the new reviewer response form thing has set up. If you did not do a signed review I will now not be able to respond, unless you raised any important point or have a really important question, than I will discuss it in one of the author notes (I still appreciate all reviews, so please keep sending them, its just one of the new rules on this site). I do want to thank once again all the people who have reviewed the previous chapters and I hope everyone continues to do so.**

** Oh I wanted to add that the letter Sirius receives from James may not entirely sound like a 12 year old wrote it, so lets just pretend James had help writing it from his parents because I tried writing it in that way, but it just came out too childish sounding.  
**

**Have a HAPPY HOLIDAY! Next chapter the boys will be returning to Hogwarts! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Anything that is J.K. Rowling's, well is not mine.**

**A/N: I tried to update the story yesterday, but when I was uploading the chapter, it kept timing out, so this chapter was ready yesterday. I apologize the chapter took so long. Its not as long as usual, but after many rewrites, I think I finally got to where I wanted to be at the end of this chapter, so ENJOY! **

James gazed out his bedroom window. His parents always joked with their friends that they had given their son the best view in the house. He was going to miss being home. Why was it that as soon as he was used to being home, it was time for school to begin again.

Being back in school meant dealing with Sirius Black.

_What exactly was the proper way to deal with a friend's betrayal_? Even after all that had happened James still thought of Sirius as a friend.

_Should he curse him on sight? Ignore him? Force him to explain himself? Was there even a right way?_

James lugged his trunk toward the top of the stairs. Looking discreetly around, he slipped his wand out of his robes.

"Master James! You is not allowed to do magic!"

James dropped his wand in surprise at the sudden appearance of the house-elf.

"No, I wasn't," James said and then changed his story quickly when she looked at him crossly, "Ok, I was, but it was only to make my trunks lighter."

"You should ask me to do it. House-elves very good with magic," the elf crossed her arms indignantly and was a snap of her fingers the trunk was at the bottom of the staircase.

"You won't tell my mum and dad, will you? I won't see them until Christmas and you wouldn't want them saying goodbye to me in a bad mood, right?"

"Ok, but Master James must promise to be good."

"Always," James winked and ran down the stairs to where his trunk was waiting.

* * *

About an hour later, his familiar living room with his parents waving at him swirled out of focus and he stumbled into his grandparent's pallor almost crashing to the ground. Luckily no one was around to witness his clumsiness. 

James's image of his grandparents (on his father's side, his mother's parents were deceased) was different from what one would expect.

James's grandparents were 'larger-than-life'. They were famous aurors – catching dark wizards left and right. A life filled with excitement and danger and not one with time for baking cookies or going fishing with a grandson. Now they were recently retired and eager on making up time with James, so he was being shipped off to their house four days before the start of school.

The pallor was empty except for a strangely packed object. Upon close inspection the shape of the object was immediately recognizable and he ripped into the paper like a crazed lion. He took several long minutes to examine the brand new shiny broomstick before reading the note that had been attached to it.

_Dear James,_

_Your new broom just arrived this morning. Your parents had to special order it. We had to step out for a few hours, but we will return by lunch time. Please obey…_

James didn't have to continue reading to know who he had to obey. Two voices were approaching the pallor rapidly and within seconds Victoria and Vanessa Dekker had entered the room.

The Dekkers lived on the same street as his grandparents. Mrs. Dekker was best friends with James's mother. The Dekkers were purebloods, but after a bit of bad luck, they had lost most of their fortune.

Victoria was a year younger than James and could only be described as a big bouncy ball of uncontained energy. Victoria had a _crush _on him and their parents did little to discourage it. James knew his mother would love if he ended up marrying Victoria. Vanessa was entering her 7th year and was a child from a previous marriage. Spending time with them was never one of James's favorite activities. Both girls tended to be snobbish and annoying.

When Vanessa entered, the first thing James noticed was a recently polished Head Girl's badge.

James smirked, "So you've been made Head girl? Congratulations, it's been what eight years since a Hufflepuff has been made Head?"

James knew Vanessa was very touchy about her House.

"Gryffindor might find its rule breaking era come to an end. You won't be getting away with nearly as much with a Slytherin as Head Boy."

"Dumbledore made a Slytherin Head Boy?"

"That's right. I've been trying to convince Victoria that Gryffindor is not the ideal House, but she won't listen to me."

"Don't worry James, I'm not listening to her. I want to be in Gryffindor. Is that a new broomstick?"

"Going to be a Quidditch player, Potter? That along with rule breaking will get you nowhere in life."

"I wouldn't insult Quidditch in front of me," James said locking eyes with her.

"Vanessa's just sore about Quidditch because she's tried out twice for chaser and didn't make it either time!" Victoria said quickly stepping in front of James.

"You weren't supposed to tell that to anyone!" Vanessa cried her cheeks reddened and she exited the room.

The morning dragged on with Victoria following James everywhere. He couldn't shake her off. He even tried insulting her, but the only thing that worked was when he began going into minute detail about Quidditch

James took the opportunity to sneak into his Grandfather's study. He'd only been in there a few times, but he loved how everything in the room was filled with history. James had a feeling he was the youngest _thing _in the whole room. James headed over to where his grandfather had a picture of a young group of aurors. He stared into the frame imagining himself among the greatest. He wasn't sure yet what he wanted to do, but he knew he could never have a behind the scenes job like his father. Being safe and cautious was not in his vocabulary.

"Hiding from the Dekker girls?" asked a voice that was both gruff and soft at the same time.

James swirled around to see his grandfather behind him.

"Ah…yes..." James said cautiously. _Was he even allowed to be in the study alone?_

"Fancy yourself an auror?"

"Yea… maybe. It sounds exciting."

"Not nearly as exciting as most people imagine. You know what I wish for you, James? That you won't have to deal with a war and that you won't feel obligated to join the fight because the world needs a hero. I hope you have a safe job, marry a nice pureblood girl, and have lots of children."

James's eyes widened when he heard his grandfather say _marry a nice pureblood girl_. Since when did a Potter care about such things? Was it a slip of the tongue or did his grandfather really expect him to keep the line pure?

His grandfather smiled at him, "Lunch should be ready soon and then you can take your new broom for a spin."

James didn't really want to get into an argument with his grandfather at the moment, especially if he hadn't meant it entirely. So he smiled back and headed to the dining room.

* * *

September first was a picture perfect day. The sky was so blue and so clear that it looked as if it might have been painted or enchanted. 

Platform 9 ¾ was still empty when James and the Dekker sisters arrived. While Vanessa helped Victoria get on the train, James loaded up his things before disappearing from view. He looked around waving at some students, but seeing no one from his year yet. Until he noticed the Blacks over at the end of the platform and they were clearly keeping their distance from the common folk.

It wasn't hard to spot the Black heir. Mr. Black at the moment was talking softly, but sternly to Sirius, who had his head bent and eyes on the ground. It almost looked like Sirius was being scolded or apprehended. James decided he must just be seeing things. Sirius was now the hero of the Black family after what had transpired over the summer.

"Sirius doesn't look to happy does he?" Lily Evans said approaching James.

At that moment Sirius broke free from the hold of his father and headed straight toward their direction. James grabbing Lily ducked behind a trolley with three trunks piled on it.

As Sirius walked by, James could not ignore the fact that he looked very thin and pale.

"Can your hair get any messier?" Lily whispered to him.

"Can your hair get any redder?" James retorted back causing Lily to turn as red as her hair.

Once Sirius was on the train, James stood up and James said, "If Sirius thinks he can fool anyone…"

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked.

"Well he's acting as if he's still against his family, but we all know the truth now…"

"Why do you think he's acting? Sirius looked like he hasn't had a decent meal in ages."

"He's faking it. Haven't you heard what happened?"

"I suppose not, since I haven't the faintest idea what you're on about…I am Muggle-born, I don't have much contact with this world once I'm home."

"Sirius has been spying for Slytherin all year. Apparently he was pretending to be my friend in order to get my trust. Once he had it, he was going to use my trust to get back at my family."

"Are you serious?"

"Do you think I would joke about something like this? I didn't want to believe it either, but…I guess once a Black, always a Black."

"What's your proof? You can't just accuse one of your friends like that!"

"I have plenty of proof, Evans! Don't you try and put the blame on me. Go ask him yourself, see if he doesn't hex you for being Muggle-born."

Leaving Evans with her mouth a gape James entered the train himself.

James found Remus, Peter and Cory in a compartment about halfway down the train. He sat down between Remus and Cory.

Cory looked uncertainly at James, "So are the rumors true about Sirius?"

James shrugged, "Depends who you ask."

"You knew him best."

"No. I thought I did," James said sourly.

The train ride was mostly quiet. Victoria found their compartment in the last hour of the train ride. Both Cory and Remus seemed to feel sorry for her and asked her to play _exploding snap_ with them.

Once they were all safely inside the castle, sitting on Gryffindor table, and awaiting the first years arrival, James discreetly looked around the Great Hall for Sirius Black.

"I don't see him either," Remus said sadly and James pretended he had no idea who Remus was referring to.

Black was missing the feast and though James tried to put him out of his mind, it proved so impossible that he didn't even enjoy all his favorite foods.

Their theory that Sirius was being re-sorted with the first years proved wrong, when the last student became a Ravenclaw. (Victoria had been made a Gryffindor earlier)

And to make matters worse when Professor Dumbledore dismissed them, Professor McGongall came over to Remus, James and Peter.

"Have you three seen Sirius Black?"

"No, Professor," Remus said, "I saw him on the train though."

"Well if you see him up at the Tower, let him know he better come see me if he doesn't want to start the term off with a week detention."

"Why would he be in the Tower?" James asked at the same time Remus said "He didn't change Houses?"

"I'm not sure what you two are talking about, but Sirius Black is still in Gryffindor."

"Still in Gryffindor?" James echoed in shock. He felt strange. It didn't make any sense.

"Really, maybe you boys should go lie down. Have a good night," she said curtly.

On the long way back to the Tower, the three friends were stunned into silence.

Peter was the first to break the silence right in front of the portrait hole, "What are you going to do, James?"

"This doesn't make sense. What was he thinking? Sirius has to know we all hate him."

"Which is probably why he missed the feast," Remus said sensibly, though James was in no mood to be sensible.

"Maybe the Sorting hat refused to re-sort him. Maybe that's why he's too cowardly to face anyone."

Remus paused, "I think we should talk to him, James. At least listen to his explanation."

James let out a hollow laugh.

"I didn't say we have to believe him, but at least listen to him," Remus said carefully.

"I'm not talking to him," James said finally, "If he tries to utter a word at me, he'll- he'll wish he hadn't."

Once in front of the second year dorm, James stopped at the door. He wasn't sure how he would react if he came face to face with the traitor right now.

Remus pushed past him and went in first. James followed quickly after to find a completely empty room. Sirius's bed was still there, the curtains were drawn, and his trunk lay near it.

Cory came in a few minutes later and looked questionably at Sirius's bed, but no one had any answers.

James felt that sleep would be the best remedy, so he quickly unpacked his stuff. He found on the floor by Sirius's bed a piece of folded paper. Carefully James picked it up and opened it.

The letter began with:

_Mr. Black,_

_Congratulations on a job flawlessly executed. I suppose even acts of treachery and deceit should be recognized. Perhaps my first impression of you was correct – A Black in heart and soul…_

The letter ended with his signature. The problem was that though this was James's handwriting, the words were not his. James had written Sirius many letters demanding explanations, but never receiving one back. And the silence spoke more than a letter filled with harsh words. The silence meant that their friendship really had meant nothing and that hurt the most.

The letter looked worn as if it had been read over many times. _What did this letter mean? Did Sirius believe he would write such a horrible letter?_

Without telling his other roommates his new knowledge, James silently went to bed. He supposed now he would have to take Remus's advice. He had to talk to Black tomorrow.

**A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed my last chapter. All your encouraging words really mean a lot. I'll try to make the next update sooner. I usually post in my profile when the next update will be if its been a really long time. Thanks for hanging in there with me. School comes first so its hard finding time to be creative. **

**I almost took out the Dekker sister subplot, but now I'm glad I kept it in, even though at the moment they don't exactly add much to the story …and next chapter we will see both James's and Sirius's POV (maybe even Remus's)**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: If I were J.K. Rowling I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, I'd be writing Book 7!

A/N: Well I really thought I would be able to post this chapter in less than a month, but it is now over a month since I posted. Though February is a really short month...lol. Anyway this is a long chapter and I'm really happy with it, so I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Sirius's second year at Hogwarts didn't start any better than his first. The train ride over had been unbearable. Bellatrix had found him in a compartment with two unknown students who he didn't know and didn't really care to know. She had chased the two poor students out and filled the compartment with stuck-up purebloods. The conversation in the compartment went on as if he wasn't there, but he noticed everyone was looking at him curiously.

"So is _your _cousin going to join us in Slytherin or not? Are you going to keep us in suspense forever?" said a boy with a pointy nose and short blond hair that made him appear bald.

"He is a Black," Bellatrix answered so venomously that no one brought up the subject again for the entire ride. Bellatrix may have been many unpleasant things, but she was not stupid and she knew Sirius had no intention of willingly going into Slytherin. So Sirius stayed very much on guard during the entire ride, which was quite hard since he grew very bored. If there was a way to trick him into being resorted, she would be the person to do it.

Though, Sirius noted the Slytherins in the compartment were more than willing to forget his Gryffindor past. They all would gladly become best friends with him if he even so much as gave them a friendly glance. Everyone still obviously believed he had been spying for his parents all year.

Even though Sirius's summer had been horrible, it was still obvious that his parents were clinging to the hope he would stop all this, as his mother called it, _ridiculous, unbecoming behavior_. They still believed he was going through a rebellious phase because they couldn't have possibly bred a real traitor to the blood. That could only happen to lesser beings, not royalty like the Blacks.

Mr. and Mrs. Black really had tried everything. They were scraping the bottom of the jar for new techniques. First had been the punishments, which had gotten rougher when they began using physical force. He rubbed the left side of his upper body unconsciously. His father had gotten so angry – famous fiery Black temper every member seemed to have- and had almost broken some of Sirius's ribs. The worst was when they tried to guilt him into behaving properly because he really did hate being a disappointment. And now without even his friends (well now they were merely roommates) on his side, it wasn't so easy fighting the guilty feelings.

Sirius initially had every intention of attending the Sorting feast, but as in many instances, fate had a rather different plan. It happened as Sirius was stepping out of the carriages with Bellatrix pretending to ignore the majority of the students who were pointing and loudly whispering in his direction. Apparently no one was worrying about being discreet.

Bellatrix looked at him carefully and finally said, "Well Sirius? What would you like me to owl your mother and father?"

"Tell them what you want. The real truth will never reach their ears anyway." Sirius was surprised on how calm and rational his voice sounded. Inside his emotions were on a roller coaster.

Andromeda must have been looking for them because she came rushing over in a bit of a panic, "Oh, Sirius. I couldn't find you on the train, but Dumbledore left me a note that the resorting will occur in his office. So Bella, you'll have to hand him over to me, I'm supposed to bring him right away."

Bellatrix looked at her older sister with loathing, "Hold on, why would the Headmaster leave you a letter? And if there is to be a resorting I expect to be present?"

"Obviously Professor Dumbledore found me the more responsible, which is no surprise there. I don't go around hexing people younger than me for show…and Dumbledore insisted in his letter that it had to be done in private. Take it up with him if you have a problem, but Sirius and I must hurry!"

Andromeda took Sirius by the arm and steered him away from the direction of most of the students.

When Sirius managed to get her to pause he looked at her strangely, "What were you thinking! I don't want to change houses! I don't want to get anywhere near that stupid hat!" His voice was no longer calm.

"I know. I know, but let them _think _that's what you are doing. Then you can write to your mother and father and claim no matter how much you insisted the sorting hat wouldn't place you in Slytherin."

Sirius gave her an incredulous look.

"Come on! It's not as if you've never lied to them before and it will only be worse for you next time your home if you didn't even attempt to be resorted. The attempt, though failed, will be seen in better light than indifference to the problem of your house placement."

"But…"

"I found out the new Gryffindor password for you."

"How did you do that?"

"One of the Gryffindor Prefects has a crush on me. It really wasn't that hard."

"Not Frederick Ward?"

"Oh no! He's as arrogant as that Potter friend of yours without the personality to smooth it over."

"So what is it?" Sirius ignored the mention of Potter.

"Bumble-bee weed."

"What if Bella checks with Dumbledore to make sure I really…"

"I don't think she will, but if she does, Dumbledore will most likely turn her away."

Andromeda looked as if she were about to leave.

"Isn't there a rule that you have to attend the feast?"

"Technically, but when have you cared about following the rules? I know this may not sound fair, but you should give everyone some time."

"Time for what?"

"All everyone was talking about on the train ride was the whole fiasco between you and Potter. No one was on your side or at least not the ones that will matter to you."

"Hiding from it won't make it better though. It will only make me look like guiltier and if I'm not there to defend myself everyone will jump to their own conclusions, which I'm sure will be the wrong conclusions."

"By the time class starts tomorrow everyone will know you're staying in Gryffindor and that will give them a day to get used to the idea."

"I guess that means I'm skipping breakfast as well?"

"I think you should let the information circulate as long as possible."

Sirius had lost most of his appetite anyway for the day and he had grown used to not eating a lot, so he supposed skipping dinner and breakfast wouldn't be that hard. And there was always the option of sneaking into the kitchens. With a quick goodbye, Andy hurried down the corridor. Hopefully Filch was at the feast and not manning the halls like usual. Sirius knew one thing; he'd feel a lot safer with Potter's invisibility cloak.

Alone in the boys second year dorm, Sirius ached to know what was happening at the feast. Before lying down on his bed, Sirius had taken Potter's letter out to read over once more trying to see some code perhaps in the words. He must have dozed off because he heard his roommates entering. It wasn't until the room had grown quiet that Sirius's heart slowed down to normal rate.

The next morning, Sirius woke up before anyone else. He tiptoed into the bathroom, stripped and within moments hot steamy water was slowly un-tensing his body. Bathing over the summer had not been a pleasurable experience. The water tended to be freezing and he was only given five minutes to bathe. If he went even a few seconds over, Kreacher would come bursting in dragging him completely naked out of the tub.

During the summer, every aspect of his life had been slowly taken control of. Sirius supposed prisoners were given more freedom. Regulus had also been given a strict morning schedule, but his afternoons were free. More importantly, Regulus didn't have to deal with the disappointing looks his mother and father gave him constantly. They looked at Sirius as if they couldn't quite believe they had raised a son like him.

Another thing that made it all worse was if he only apologized and swore to be sorted into Slytherin, his life at home would have drastically improved. It was as simple as that. Even if it had been a lie, his parents would have lapped it up.

After stepping out of a very long shower, Sirius dressed into his Hogwarts uniform. He felt strangely proud that after all that had happened he was still sporting red and gold. It didn't matter what everyone else thought, he still had won against his parents. The victory may have been small, it may not have lasted long or even been considered a real victory, but it was all he had.

As Sirius opened to door to get out of the bathroom he collided into Remus.

"Sirius," Remus's voice sounded warmer and friendlier than Sirius had expected, "How was your summer?"

"Lupin," he greeted and looked him straight in the eyes, "To tell you the truth my summer hasn't been that good."

"So I've heard…"

"Yours?" Sirius asked hoping to halt the conversation right away.

"Ok, boring really. I'm glad to be back at Hogwarts. Doesn't it feel more like home here at Hogwarts?"

"What did Potter tell you?" _So much for halting the conversation._

Remus raised his eyebrows in surprise, "James is not the only source I've heard it from. In a nutshell you've been spying all last year for Slytherin and you were supposed to gain James's trust, which I believe you did. He even showed me the letter you wrote to him."

A few seconds of silence passed.

"And yet here you remain in Gryffindor?"

"It's hardly the _truth _they know," Sirius said with a dry laugh.

He continued on when Remus didn't answer, "It was all a lie, my parents spread the lie about my spying at that party and at that point all I could do was go along with it. You don't understand the type of people I was around. And I never wrote that letter, my father used my blood with a spell to forge my signature."

Remus stood very quietly. "You don't believe me, do you? Why would you? I don't blame you- but it's the truth and that's all there is to it, so my story won't change."

"Well if it's the truth, then it's the truth. I believe you."

"You do?"

"You've never lied to me before, or at least I don't think so."

"What about Potter?"

"You'll have to tell him yourself. I'm not telling this to him for you."

"Can't you at least…"

"No. You two need to straighten this out yourself. It won't be the same if he believes you only because I believe you."

"Will he even give me a chance to explain?"

"I guess you'll have to offer him that chance. Are you going down to breakfast?"

"No…I need to owl my parents. Do you think you can grab my schedule and bring it to the owlry?"

"Sure, I'll be there in about a half-an-hour."

Sirius watched Remus leave, feeling a bit better than he had before meeting Remus. Even if it turned out that only Lupin believed the truth, Sirius knew he would survive with one person on his side.

* * *

Severus Snape walked quietly along the corridor to his first class of the day, Charms. Though Hogwarts was better than home, he couldn't say he was thrilled to be back.

His father was completely Muggle and Severus didn't think he entirely believed in magic. His mother was no help in that department. She did the least amount of magic possible in his presence and hid her wand when his father was home in the drawer with all her underwear. He'd learned how to do magic before Hogwarts from his grandfather and grandmother, the ever beloved Princes. Snape had been sent to the Princes's castle for last three weeks of vacation.

At least there he could practice magic. At his house in a Muggle neighborhood, underage magic could easily be detected, but the Prince's mansion was above that silly Ministry law. His relatives were eager to teach him new curses and dark spells. He even got to brew a potion or two. One disadvantage of being at the Princes's was they were constantly entertaining guests who usually brought their offspring along.

They were all the same- pureblood, rich, cocky, conceited, everything given to them; constantly competing with each other. Snape had grown up in a very different lifestyle. It wasn't until he'd turned ten, nearing Hogwarts age that his mother's family had taken an interest in him. He knew it was out of charity and to protect the Prince family name. His status in Slytheirn was high at the moment, but he was in a precarious position. If anyone found out he was half-blood, he'd be shunned and ridiculed. Not that he had many friends or any friends, but he had the respect of many of the older students, such as Bellatrix Black and her gang.

His major problem this year was that Sirius Black knew about his parentage. How that had happened Snape would never know, but he had to make sure Black would stay silent somehow.

Snape as usual was early to class and as he was about to enter the classroom, he paused a moment. Sirius Black and James Potter were both already in the room, which was strange to begin with. Neither was known for their promptness to class. Black was seated in the middle of the room and Potter stood looking as if he was about to engage Black in some clever conversation.

Severus had nothing but contempt for Black. The boy really must be a complete idiot. There was no other explanation Snape could see. Why else would Black so willingly give up his heritage? Severus could only imagine what he could do with half the status and power being a Black had in Slytherin. Black had thrown it all away to run with the lions and he couldn't imagine how that could look more appealing than to slither with the snakes.

And he didn't even want to get started about Potter. He _hated _Potter; ever since he had first seen the conceited prat. It was just one of those things. Every time one of them looked or spoke to the other, their personalities just crashed. Potter thought he was above everyone else. He didn't seem to care who he offended or who he hurt. Yet with all his flaws, everyone at Hogwarts liked Potter.

He hated to admit it, but he was jealous of both of them. With Black's name and Potter's confidence, no one would laugh at him. Potter and Black hadn't been the only ones to snicker at his greasy hair and big nose. Last year when they had been united, he had tried to stay as far away as possible from them. The attempt hadn't been as successful as he had hoped, especially after they had given him that ridiculous nickname.

Snape had been relieved to hear that the rumors about Sirius over the summer had halted their friendship and the fact that they hadn't been seen together yet proved it was true. Snape knew his life would only get harder with those two on the same team. So, just as Potter was about to open his mouth he stepped in the classroom. He decided right there that he'd do just about anything to keep those two from reconciling.

"Potter. Black. Not thinking about have a brawl are you?"

His sudden presence had just the affect he had hoped for. Potter swirled around in surprise, his hand quickly going for his wand as if he were expecting an attack.

Potter narrowed his eyes and growled, "What do you want Snape?"

It was music to Snape's ear to hear Potter call him by his surname and not by the nickname.

"I am merely curious to see your reaction to meeting face to face with your betrayer. All year while you were confiding your deepest thoughts and secrets, he was telling this all to his family. Personally, I'd be tearing him apart to pieces."

Potter snorted diversely, "I'm more civilized than _that_."

"Being civilized has nothing to do with it," Snape now kept his eyes on Black, "You should have heard him carrying on at the Prince's party. He thought it was a riot how he fooled you. Everyone was laughing at how gullible you were. An apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Potter and the Most Noble and Ancient Black tree is no exception."

Potter had grown red in the face, while Black had grown paler. Snape was surprised that Black hadn't shouted out something yet. Snape, not for one moment had believed someone like Black would be capable of treachery like Black's parents so claimed. If he had, he wouldn't be in Gryffindor.

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Potter said angrily and he slammed his book bag on the desk closest to him.

"I'm terribly sorry if I stopped your conversation. Do go on as if I was never here."

Potter looked at Black who was now holding his gaze as well. The two of them stared at each other for an eternity, though it most likely was about thirty seconds.

Potter sighed and finally said quietly, "McGonagall wants to see you. "

"In trouble already, Black," Snape sneered (he couldn't help it), "Tut. Tut. It really hasn't been a good start for you. First your resorting didn't exactly go as planned and now this…"

"If you don't keep quiet, Snape, I might just let one of your secrets slip," Black said loudly just as other students began to filter into the classroom.

Snape sat down on the Slytherin side of the room. He had definitely stopped the two of them from reconciling for the moment, but he did not like the way Potter had eyed Black curiously when he had mentioned the secret that Black had about him. That could be trouble.

* * *

Sirius hasn't had any idea how his first encounter with Potter would be like, but he definitely hadn't expected Snape to be there to witness it. Potter had almost looked sorry about something before Snape had turned it to anger.

As the other students came in, Lily Evans and the other second year girls sat down by him. Lily gave him a smile, but the others gave him looks of distrust. Sirius had a feeling since Lily was the only Muggle-born in their year, she didn't know any better than to distrust him.

When Remus and Peter walked in, Remus nodded at Sirius. Peter pretended not to see him at all and scurried to sit next to James. Remus had to now sit in front of James, since it was the only seat open near Potter. Potter leaned forward and began whispering to Remus.

Sirius felt a pang of loneliness. He should be sitting with them. James should be whispering to him. The whole reason he had fought against his parents was so he could still be friends with the three of them. What if that never happened? What if he had made a huge mistake?

The first day of Charms turned out to be a review of all the things they had done last year. It was quite a mess because the majority of students had completely forgotten everything they had learned. Professor Flitwick looked so exasperated at everyone's failed attempts that Sirius was afraid they might resort back to the basics of swish and flick.

When class ended, Sirius jumped out of his seat and was the first to leave. He couldn't stand being in that stuffy classroom any longer. There was a break before Transfiguration and Sirius had no intention of seeing McGonagall as Potter had instructed him to do. He wasn't worried about a detention or lost points.

As Sirius stalked the halls his anger only rose. All summer he had to keep his emotions in check, he was a Black after all, but now he just wanted to lash out at someone or something. Instead he had carefully in class looked as if being a loner suited him just fine. Which wasn't the case at all; Sirius disliked not having friends.

"Black, I need to speak with you," a loud arrogant carrying voice called behind him and it sounded so much like Potter that Sirius stopped right in his tracks. But it wasn't James; it was his cousin Frederick Ward.

The sixth year didn't look pleased and regarded the second year in front of him with as much respect as most people would give a speck of dirt on their shoe. This wasn't exactly a surprise, even after most of Gryffindor had accepted him last year, Frederick had not liked his influence on James. Though strangely Sirius felt James had much more affect on him.

"What is it Ward? What have a done to offend you?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

"Get those Gryffindor robes off your filthy skin. Stop contaminating my house with your Blackness."

"If you have a problem with me being in Gryffindor why don't you make an appointment with the Sorting Hat. I'm sure he'll love hearing your complaints."

"I knew you tried to get resorted!"

"I never said that…anyway it doesn't really matter."

"Stay away from James! If I even see you trying to talk to him, trying to convince him you make a mistake, that you are reformed- it will be the last thing you ever say."

"Sounds like you're threatening me?"

"No, I'm tell you what will happen if you choose the wrong path."

"There's no need to worry. I don't plan on speaking with your cousin anyway."

"Glad to hear that. You made the right choice. And by the way, you have detention with Professor McGonagall tomorrow night."

"For what?"

"Being rude to a prefect. Good day, Black."

The next day at breakfast Sirius received a note that he was wanted in the Headmasters office immediately. Sirius looked up to where the Headmaster usually sat and indeed he was missing. Quickly finishing his breakfast he got up just as Lily, Remus, and Cory were entering.

"Are you leaving already?" Lily asked, "We were about to join you."

Sirius did not bother to explain about the meeting and left speechless the only two people in the school that didn't hate him.

Slightly out of breath Sirius spoke the password that had been on the note. _Tangerine plums_. The door to Dumbledore's office opened immediately and the Headmaster was pacing apparently expecting him.

"Mr. Black, please have a seat. I'm glad you came here so promptly. I believe Professor McGonagall is still expecting a visit from you to explain your absence at our Sorting Feast."

"About that, sir…" Dumbledore waved his hand to stop him from explaining.

"Save your explanations for your Head of House later today when you attend your Transfiguration class."

Sirius nodded and waited patiently for 60 seconds of silence before asking, "So why am I here sir?"

"Well, Mr. Black, it's for the same reason we had to meet last year. It's a matter of your house. Your mother and father insisted that I offer you a chance to put that hat back on. You have until the end of today to be resorted after that the magic is binding and you will not have another chance until the start of next years term."

"I've already owled my parents that I had a resorting and that it wouldn't place me in Gryffindor."

"Which was a lie I presume unless you somehow managed to break into my office without my knowledge, I know you are a skilled wizard, but I believe the protection I have placed on this office could hardly be broken by a second year."

"I had to lie…"

"That is not the truth Mr. Black and we both know that. You had many choices you could have not have owled them at all, you could have written them that you have decided not to be resorted…as you can see lying was not your only choice."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"No. I am merely offering you a chance to turn that lie into the truth," Dumbledore motioned to the old black hat sitting on top of shelf.

"Do I have to try it on again?" Sirius asked looking at the Sorting Hat with apprehension. That _thing _last year had turned his life upside down.

"Why are you afraid to put it on again? Do you doubt that it will keep you in Gryffindor?"

"No. I know I could never be in Slytherin, sir."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Sirius said quietly and for the first time with assurance. He knew he was where he belonged and maybe that _thing _was the only other one besides him to believe it. Though the definition of what was **right** had certainly grown fuzzy since the summer.

"Well if you are so sure I really don't see the harm…" Professor Dumbledore was looking at him with a knowing gaze as if he was trying to tell him something.

"Because…" Sirius began slowly, "because _I_ need to believe that I'm in the right house. I shouldn't believe it based on what the hat or anyone else will say to me. If I do it will be like I had no choice in the matter and I couldn't live with knowing I had no choice."

"That is an excellent reason. I won't insist any further that you get resorted, but you do have until the end of the day incase you change your mind. The password to my office will stay the same so if you do need assurance."

Sirius left Dumbledore's office feeling lighter and cheerier. Now being in Gryffindor was completely his choice. He had no Sorting Hat to blame it on anymore. He had chosen not to ask it again which qualities of which house described him best. Sirius was in the house of the brave and the chivalrous for good.

Within moments, Sirius suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Seconds ago he had felt unburdened and now so quickly his mind was filling again with doubt. _What in the world was he thinking? Gryffindor! His parents would disown him._

Sirius actually stopped in the middle of the hallway and almost turned around to go back to Dumbledore's office.

_No! Slytherin? He wanted Gryffindor. He would hate it in Slytherin._

Sirius breathed in and out slowly. He forced himself to keep walking. He just had to keep himself from going crazy like that until the end of the week; really just a few more days.

_Just a few more days…_

_

* * *

_

James sighed to himself looking down the hall in both directions. _Where in the world had Black disappeared to once again?_

James had been straightening his bag out for maybe 15 extra seconds and when he looked back up, Black had vanished once again. It was the same in every class. Sirius would stay unfindable until he mysteriously showed up for the next class.

At the end of the week he managed to keep Black behind in class by splitting his bag open with a well aimed spell. Evans saw him but she did not say anything to Sirius who was sitting beside her.

So as class ended, Sirius had to stay behind to patch his bag and rearrange his belongings. As soon as the last person was out the door, James approached Sirius who sat up so suddenly from his place on the floor that he hit his head.

"I don't need your help Potter," Sirius said stuffing the last bit of paper in his bag. His grey-blue eyes betrayed the stony façade.

Being so close to Sirius for the first time, James was startled by how pale and worn down he looked, "Mate…" he murmured, "You really ought to have gone outside more often."

"Is that what you wanted to tell me? That I looked to pale?"

"No, no…sorry… but I think after the events over the summer that we discuss certain things…such as this letter…"

"Where did you find that?" His voice and body were all accusatory.

"You dropped it."

"So? Keep it. Or are you planning to read it out loud so that you could see for yourself the damage your words inflicted?"

James hadn't expected Sirius to act so defensive and in turn (maybe mistakenly) he got defensive back.

"After what you did? Could you expect anything else?" James found himself say, "Why are you still in Gryffindor?" James could believe that Sirius was acting as if he were the victim.

"Go see the Sorting Hat with your complaint. You can get in line behind my parents, my cousins, your cousin…"

"My cousin?"

"Yes Frederick and I had a nice chat. He's really a nice bloke, except for the part when he threatened my life if he ever saw me talking to you."

"Frederick may have taken it to the extreme, but you can't blame everyone for wondering what exactly you are doing, especially me."

"It really is no one else's business what I do with my life and that includes you. I do agree with your cousin on one point. I think its best if we don't talk. I just ask you respect that I'm in Gryffindor. It's that simple. We don't have to associate with each other…or Merlin forbid act friendly."

"Why'd you do it? I thought we were friends. I trusted you," James paused and repeated, "Why'd you do it?"

James could not understand what Black hoped to gain through his choices. Why would he first befriend James to only betray him and yet after the betrayal is known publicly stay in Gryffindor? And to top it off Black wasn't even trying to make excuses for his behavior. He simply wanted to stay in Gryffindor and be left alone.

Now James's confusion as great as it was, only increased with Black's next words.

"Let's pretend for a minute that everything you heard over the summer was a lie."

"What?"

"Just indulge me for a moment. Let's pretend that as soon as I saw you on the Hogwarts Express, I told you everything was a lie. I told you that my parents are really horrible people. Since not only has no respectable Black been in Gryffindor before, but in addition I was making friends with mudbloods, half-bloods and worst of all blood traitors" (James made a noise at the word mudblood, but Sirius plodded on) "These same parents were so upset and angry that they made up a story about their son being a spy and spread the lie so that every witch and wizard would hear about it. And everyone believed that lie, everyone believed that their son was the spy and the son couldn't do a thing about it because with parents as horrible as that what can you do? Would you have believed me?"

James stared at Sirius strangely. Was the story an attempt to apologize? His parents had warned him that Sirius might try to smooth things over by lying about what had happened.

"Believe that you were not a spy? That it was a lie setup by your horrible parents?"

"Yes."

"No. I'd assume you were lying or making an excuse. No ones family is that horrible. No parents would do that to their heir. Is that what you parents told you to tell me? I'm not going to fall for your tricks for a second time."

"Well that's all I needed to hear. You have your answer right in front of you." Sirius said and his voice which had been rich with emotion before was now weak.

James stared at Black's retreating back. None of his questions had been answered. Instead Sirius had just made up an excuse and he didn't even try to make it convincing.

It wasn't until minutes later, with Sirius far from reach, that James looked down at the letter in his hand and realized he had never had a chance to explain it.

Later that evening, James was in the Common Room with Remus doing his homework like a good student. He couldn't help thinking that if Sirius hadn't done what he had done, he'd be having a lot more fun at the moment.

Black suddenly appeared from the boy's dormitory and walked passed everyone to the portrait door, head high.

James sighed, "I tried to talk to him today."

Frederick, who was helping a pretty girl in his year with homework, looked over at James suspiciously from his adjacent table.

"Did he say anything to you?" Frederick asked accusingly.

"Yes, Frederick. We talked. Really, you don't need to around threatening people to leave me alone. Plus, there's no need to worry since we didn't makeup or anything."

Remus looked concerned, "You didn't believe him?"

"Believe him about what?" James asked.

Frederick rolled his eyes, "He probably made up some story about how sorry he was, right Lupin? Don't believe a word he tells you. What Black did to you was unforgivable. Trust is something not easily given and once it's broken, it may be gone forever."

Something about those words was oddly familiar to James. It dawned on him unexpectedly.

"I don't know," Remus began, "He sounded really sincere…"

"Frederick," James said his voice suddenly shaky with suppressed anger, "I need to talk to you in private."

"I need to first finish this," he waved at the paper in front of him.

"No. Now." Even though his cousin was a great deal taller than him, James managed to force him out of his seat and out into the hall leaving the whole Common room looking at them suspiciously.

"Please, please tell me you didn't write this," James said handing over the letter without looking at him.

"How'd you find this?"

"Black dropped it! And he thinks I wrote it! He thinks I hate him!"

"You should hate him, James. Look what he did to you."

"Did you write this?"

"Yes-"

"I can't believe it!"

"It wasn't only me."

"Are you kidding me?"

"It was best for the family and best for you too. Many respectable witches and wizards have all been very suspicious about your sudden interest in the Black heir. The Black's are all dark and vengeful people. Rumors have been circulating that you were thinking about joining them. And I don't blame them for wondering."

"Are you crazy? I hate the Dark Arts. If anyone was changing, Sirius was coming to the light side."

"You don't understand how those people work. You could have easily been woed over to their side. I knew that Black would feed you some stupid story and that you would believe him. So by having him think you hate him, he wouldn't be too eager to have a talk with you and so far it has done its job. He thinks you hate him and for your safety and the safety of the family name, you should keep it that way."

James was speechless. How could his own family do this to him? It was his life! He could be friends with who he wanted! Why did everyone feel they could intervene?

Suddenly something else clicked in his thoughts. He'd been so stupid!

"Do you know where Black is?" It was a long shot; James didn't really expect his cousin to know.

"Why should I know?"

James turned to leave. He'd search the whole castle if he had to.

Softly Frederick said, "He's serving detentions with Professor McGonagall."

James raced toward Professor McGonagall office nearly tripping over his feet a few time. In front of McGonagall's closed door stood Sirius Black.

"Sirius!" he called and rushed over. With so many things to say, James was rendered speechless the moment Sirius looked over at him.

"Leave me alone, Potter."

"That story…" he began, "That story you were telling me. Is that the truth?"

"What?"

"I never wrote this letter," James said handing the letter back to Sirius, "Frederick forged it. Was that story true?"

"Yes, but…"

"I believe you," James said just as McGonagall opened her door. She looked surprised to see him, "Mr. Potter, is there something I can help you with?"

"No, Professor. Just passing by…"

"Well get along now if you don't want to receive a detention yourself."

As James passed a bewildered looking Sirius, James distinctly heard him whisper, "Thanks."

A/N: Thanks for reading and now its time to review! Also I will start posting responses to people who leave non-signed reviews in my profile starting with this chapter. If you leaved a signed review, I will use the new reply button as I have been doing. Next chapter will be posted in about a month (plus or minus a week)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long, but all my teachers have realized the end of the semester is approaching much sooner than they expected and I've had so many papers due that I haven't had time to write. Its not writers blocks, it's just that I really haven't had time and I apologize. This chapter is short, but I knew people are probably getting anxious about a new chapter. I promise the next few chapters will be longer!**

The room was filled with every kind of candy he had every seen. There were Ice Mice, Cockroach Clusters, and best of all Chocolate frogs. He stood in the center of the room admiring it when all of a sudden he was falling...

Remus Lupin opened up his eyes to see the top of his canopy bed. The familiar sound of Peter snoring filled the room. Remus tried to sit up when a sudden lurch of nauseousness came over him. The full moon was only a day away.

He stood up to get a glass of water and the room suddenly spun. He had to grab onto the bed post for support. After a few moments had passed, the world had righted itself, and he tiptoed over to the bathroom. He was grateful that he had not awoken his roommates because it would have resulted in a lie. He hated lying about his condition most of all.

His mother said he shouldn't be ashamed about being a werewolf, yet she insisted that he only tell the people who really _needed _to know.

Instead of drinking the water, Remus splashed it over his face to cool himself off.

As he went back to his bed, Remus realized he was only starting to feel worse instead of better. His body felt weak and his head was hurting and the dorm rooms suddenly felt awfully stuffy.

Remus headed down to the Common Room, which was empty. It was still early enough in the year that no student had attempted to stay awake all night to study and end up asleep on one of the red couches.

After a half on hour of lying on the couch hoping he would feel better, Remus decided to visit the nurse. In this condition he couldn't attend class. Maybe she could give him something. He really didn't want to miss an additional day of classes this full moon.

The nurse had just awoken and she promptly took his temperature, which was normal. She looked him over carefully.

"Well I read a new medical paper the other day studying adolescence werewolves and its very common for your transformations to get worse in your teen years, which you are approaching."

"So you think this is from the full moon? I'm usually just really tired."

"These wizards believe it is very common to see the symptoms before the transformations to get worse as well," she looked at him, "You poor boy. You need bed rest. Tomorrow night will be tough enough on your body. I will alert the teachers that this absence has to do with your condition. I'll give you a sleeping potion."

Remus didn't bother arguing. Though she meant well, the nurse could be a bit over protective. He gave her allowances because he knew he was the first werewolf to ever come to this school.

As she made him drink a cup of purple liquid she asked, "Do any of your classmates know about this should they come by asking how you are?"

"Oh! No! They don't know anything and I hardly think they'll come looking for me anyway."

The nurse nodded and Remus closed his eyes thinking about the candy filled room he had been dreaming about only a few hours ago.

* * *

"Sirius! Sirius! Wake up!"

Sirius rolled over trying to ignore whoever was calling his name. The voice was rather persistent and he finally opened one eye. To his surprise James Potter's face, messy black hair sticking up all over the place was looking at him. Peter's round shiny face right beside it.

Sirius sat up abruptly. He hadn't had a chance to talk to James since he had seen him in the hallway before detention. The detention had run much later than it should have and everyone had been asleep by the time he had returned. He wasn't exactly sure where they stood now.

"Morning…" Sirius mumbled awkwardly. Peter backed away now that he was awake looking at him strangely.

James rolled his eyes, "Come on, Peter. I explained it to you already. Sirius never betrayed me."

James turned his attention to him once more, "Right?"

"Right," Sirius said softly, "Err – is that why you woke me up?"

"No," James said laughing and his tone turned more serious, "Remus is missing. He went to bed with the rest of us, but he's gone now. Peter checked in the Common room. All his schoolbags are here still, so we don't he is at the library or at breakfast."

"I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure he'll show up to class," Sirius said.

"That's what I told James," Peter piped up, "But he wouldn't listen to me."

Sirius grinned, "You should have listened to him and let me sleep. I was slaving over those stupid trophies all last night. I'm exhausted."

An awkward silence filled the room then and Peter slipped away to get dressed and get his books in order. James shrugged and went over to rummage around in his trunk for clean robes. Sirius tumbled out of bed.

"So?" James said suddenly his back still facing Sirius.

Sirius turned around bracing for the worst.

James still facing his bed asked, "Is everything ok between us?"

"I didn't betray you. You never wrote that letter to me. Is there really anything for us to even fight about?"

James finally turned around to face Sirius, "No, its just…how did that rumor begin anyway?"

Sirius sighed. He should have been ready with an explanation. "It was my parent's idea. They figured if you were mad at me, there would be no reason for me to stay in Gryffindor. And it almost worked."

"You would have really switched houses?"

"You mean if you hadn't believed me?"

"Yes."

"Can you really see me in Slytherin?"

James shook his head, "About as much as I can see myself in Slytherin."

"There's your answer then."

Sirius went back to getting his books together (now where was his Transfiguration homework?) glad all his answers had satisfied James.

Sirius glanced back at James after a few minutes and noticed the bespectacled boy was frowning slightly.

Before Sirius could ask if anything else was wrong, James said, "Was what Snape said true?"

"What did Snape say?" Sirius asked confused by the turn in the conversation.

"That you were bragging to everyone at the Prince's party about fooling me. And that everyone was laughing, including you, at my parents and me."

Sirius stopped looking for his tie and stood up trying to slow down his racing thoughts.

"It's true," Sirius said quietly.

"Why'd you go along with the lie? I don't understand why you didn't just tell them all that we were friends. This…" he motioned his hand around, "this could have all been prevented."

"I couldn't, James. I couldn't. I'm sure you've been to plenty of formal parties with your parents. You know how you have to act in those type of settings…well just imagine that 100 times worse. You don't contradict your parents in public. Ever. On the off chance your parents actually value your opinion; all discussions are done in private. Children are to be seen, not heard. Children are there to carry on the family name. It would have been disastrous if I had protested. I had tainted the Black name enough just by being in Gryffindor. I couldn't shame the family more. My parents knew that and they used that to their advantage."

"So the worst that could have happened if you hadn't gone along with the lie, is your family name would have been ruined a bit more?" James asked skeptically. He didn't seem to think that was a big deal.

"Look I had to deal with enough at home without having to add being disruptive at a public function. I wouldn't expect you to understand with your perfect family."

"My family is hardly perfect."

"I bet it beats mine."

Sirius noticed Peter was eyeing their conversation warily. He looked ready to bolt if they starting swinging fists.

"I guess that answers my original question."

Sirius looked away from James staring at the red bed curtain, "You're completely misunderstanding everything. What do you think was the one thing that kept me from cracking all summer? What do you think stopped me from just giving into my parent's wishes of being the ideal Slytherin son?"

"Hating the color green?" James asked with a wry grin.

"I may have agreed with their lies at the party, but once I was at home I refused to continue them. I told them just to tell everyone the truth, but my parents do not give up easily. They still haven't given up. I refused to write that letter that you received, but my father used my blood for a spell to make it look like I did. My parents are willing to do more than most to keep the family name untainted. They had one problem of course and that was that I wouldn't go along with it all. I was punished all summer for my disobedience."

"I had no idea," James says softly.

"Now you do, but I don't want to talk about it ever again. Let's put it behind us."

James looked as if he wanted to keep asking questions, but he remained silent.

"Are we going down to breakfast or not?" Peter asked his bag slung over his shoulder and his stomach rumbling.

"Sure, Peter, Give me a second," James says grabbing the last of his things, "You coming, Sirius?"

Sirius shrugged stuffing his homework into his bag, then said, "Everyone still thinks we hate each other."

"So what do you want me to tell them? That you never betrayed me or that I simply forgave you?" James asked.

"What you do you think, Pettigrew?" Sirius asked the plump boy in front of him.

"Umm…I…what?"

"What would you believe more easily?"

"You're asking me?" Peter looked absolutely shocked.

"No the bloke behind you…" Sirius said with a laugh.

"Sorry…" Peter turned red, "I would believe that James forgave you."

James shook his head, "I'll just tell them all to mind their own business. We're friends again and that's all that matters."

"Ok…I guess that will work," Sirius said as they headed down to the Common room.

Just as the three of them were walking across, Robert McCoy, Quidditch Captain now in his sixth year, followed by a crowd was posting up tryout sign-up sheet.

"Aren't you going to sign up?" Sirius asked James who looked very determined to make it out of the Common room as soon as humanly possible.

"Oh…yea…I'll sign up when there's no crowd," he said absentmindedly. James kept glancing at the crowd of students who hadn't seemed to notice them yet.

Sirius realized James was trying to protect him. If they made their way to the crowded bulletin board, people were bound to notice they were friends.

"What are you trying out for?" Peter asked.

"Chaser…there's two spots open. One graduated and the other _needs to concentrate on his Newts_. What could possibly be more important than Quidditch?"

"Breathing?" Sirius asked trying to sound very serious.

"Nah."

"Eating!" Peter exclaimed.

"Maybe for you," James said and the three boys erupted into laughter.

The conversation on the way to the Great Hall seemed so normal that Sirius was momentarily startled to see all the other students look at them strangely. He had forgotten for a few seconds about their impending problems.

"Just act like everything is normal," whispered James as they sat down.

Surprisingly, Lily, Andrianna, and Katie sat down right next to them few moments later. Usually the Gryffindor second year boys and girls tended to sit separately.

"Hello, Black," Lily said pleasantly, "I assume you boys made-up?"

"You assumed right, Evans," Sirius said and James nodded.

A minute of silence passed.

"Well if no ones going to ask, I am," Andrianna said as she buttered her piece of toast, "Why are you friends all of sudden?"

Lily nudged her friend to indicate she didn't approve of her questioning, but looked eagerly at the three boys.

James shrugged, "I forgave him."

"Forgave him?" Andrianna echoed.

"Yes. Simple as that. The rest of the details are really no ones business."

"Are you still trying out for Quidditch, James?" Katie asked attempting to change the direction of the conversation.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I didn't see your name on it when I signed up," Andrianna said.

"I haven't had time."

"I would have expected your name to be the first on the list," mused Lily and Katie giggled.

"Lily is going to watch the Quidditch tryouts," Andrianna said with a mischievous grin.

"Well we're not sure if she's there to watch Quidditch or…" Katie chimed in, but was hushed by a red faced Lily.

James and Sirius exchanged lost looks. They still considered girls very strange creatures.

Andrianna took a bite of her toast, "I heard the competition is supposed to be fierce at tryouts…"

"I'm not worried…" James said grinning, "Are you?"

"Enough about Quidditch already," Lily said, "The year just started!"

"Didn't you know, Evans," Sirius said winking at James, "Quidditch is more important than breathing and eating!"

Now it was the girls turn to look confused as the boys erupted in laughter.

**A/N: Told you it was short. Sort of a filler chapter. I hope you still enjoy it. I'll have a lot more time to write after May 5th…so I do promise a longer, better chapter next time. Thank you all for sticking with my story.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: It's not mine…it's all your brilliant creation, J.K. Rowling**

**A/N: Sorry once again it took so long to update. I was busy with finals and then it took a while to get back in the swing of things, such as where I left off with the story and where I want to go with the story. I had about another 6 pages written that I was going to include in this chapter, but I couldn't get it to sound right and I didn't want to post it until I was happy with it and who knows how long that's going to takes (since my readers have waited long enough) so I just cut it off a little shorter. ENJOY!**

Peter Pettigrew struggled to keep up with the pace of his friends. He couldn't understand why James and Sirius were so anxious to get to Potions class. Last year they never seemed to put any importance in punctuality. Today was their first day of Potions because Potions had been completely cancelled for the entire week.

Peter sat down at a desk and Sirius slipped into the seat in front of him. When James sat in the seat next to Sirius, he felt a stab of jealousy. Peter supposed he should be happy Sirius and James were buddies again. He didn't like the tension in their dorm, but yesterday the two could barely stand being in the same room together and suddenly James picked Sirius over sitting with him.

Peter knew when it came to friendship with James he couldn't compete over Sirius. There was no point in trying. Sirius was cooler, more talented and more adventurous than Peter.

The upside to the situation was that Peter couldn't complain about the extra attention he was receiving. Several people throughout the day had approached him about what was going on between Sirius and James. Apparently many of them were too afraid to confront his two friends.

Just then the new teacher entered. He was a short man with a rather large belly. He had thick straw colored hair and a gingery-blond mustache.

"Welcome second years! Welcome to Potions! My name is Professor Horace Slughorn and I am the new Head of Slytherin House. I have taught at Hogwarts before, I just took a two year break, but I'm back for good now."

Professor Slughorn waddled over to his desk and picked up a sheet of paper, "Well enough about me, since we are already behind, I will begin roll call and we can go straight into the first potion you will be studying."

He started roll call at the bottom of the alphabet. Every few students he would comment about knowing their mother, father, uncle, aunt, grandparent or other relative. He passed over Peter's name without mentioning anything, which did not surprise him. No one in his family was important or famous or really had amounted to much of anything. Peter supposed their Sweet shop was the biggest Pettigrew accomplishment.

Slughorn spent a few minutes on James's famous Auror grandparents and mentioned that he hoped to get an invitation to some upcoming ball James's parents would be throwing.

He then got to Lupin.

"Remus Lupin?"

There was a moment of silence and Peter almost had the courage to speak up when James beat him to it.

"Sir, Remus isn't here. I think he's in the hospital wing."

"Ah…yes well…they explained to me about…well never mind. Thank you, Mr. Potter."

When he at last got to Sirius's name, the Professor paused a few moments. The pause was long enough to bring the attention of all the students onto Sirius Black.

Peter would be lying if he wasn't a bit happy to see Sirius so uncomfortable. Served him right for all the chaos he had brought onto Gryffindor with his out of place sorting.

For the first time that day Professor Slughorn's jolly voice sounded a bit forced, "Well I know your family quite well."

James looked quite concerned as he watched Sirius's darkening features.

"I've had my share of business deals with them – the Blacks seem to be everywhere…"

Slughorn studied Sirius and a confused expression grew on his face, "You're not in Slytherin, Mr. Black?"

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife and though Sirius looked unhappy he made so move to speak.

Once again James was the only one brave enough to speak up on Sirius's behalf. Peter envied James's ability to say what he felt especially in front of a teacher who none of them knew. James had no way of knowing if Professor Slughorn would put him in detention for speaking out of turn as some of their stricter teachers.

"Professor Slughorn, Sirius Black has been in Gryffindor since first year."

"Is that so? Ah, well there you go. Mr. Black, please see me after class now. Let's get on with the lesson, shall we? We'll begin with a simple potion that is very similar to one you covered in first year. Ms. Evans, will you please help me set up the needed ingredients that the class does not have. Please begin!"

As everyone began to assemble their cauldrons and light the fires underneath them, Peter carefully tried to overhear the conversation between Sirius and James; the conversation that they obviously weren't bothering to include him in.

"Are you alright?" James muttered.

"I'm fine!" Sirius said curtly, "Should have known though, eh? He _is _Head of Slytherin. Can't trust the lot of them."

"What do you think he wants?"

Peter never heard Sirius's response because Andrianna was standing besides his desk looking put out.

"Didn't you hear me calling your name?" she slapped the stack of papers in her hand onto his desk and went back to her seat.

"Sorry," Peter called after her, his face burning red. As he passed the stack of papers to Sirius, who did not even say thank you, he noticed the Slytherins glaring in their direction. There was another disadvantage of Sirius joining up with them again. Peter was already a very popular target for the Slytherins. Then add being tagged as Sirius's buddy and he was doomed for the rest of his Hogwarts career to look over his shoulder when in the corridor alone.

Peter groaned as he realized he had messed up his potions. The color should have been orange instead of the moldy green he was staring at.

When Slughorn passed by his cauldron, his words surprised Peter. "Good try, Mr. Pettigrew. Just remember to cut up those roots finer."

Last year he had never heard an encouraging word. Mrs. York would usually just sigh when she looked into his cauldron and give him the lowest passing mark.

Slughorn moved on to James and Sirius.

"Not bad, boys. Mr. Potter that color should be a bit lighter and Mr. Black yours should be a bit thicker in consistency."

Finally after getting praise from the teacher, Sirius and James turned to give him some attention. If Peter had been braver he might have called James out on completely ignoring him. But Peter who hated confrontation just smiled and laughed with them as if nothing was wrong.

The truth was Peter was very frightened about being alone and having no friends. So he would accept whatever position he was given in their circle of friends.

* * *

Sirius watched all the other students leave the room and as each student left, the room shrunk.

Had he made an enemy of the new teacher because of his House placement?

Then again Slughorn didn't have all the usual characteristics Sirius associated with Slytherins. First of all he was a lot jollier and Sirius hadn't noticed him treating the Slytherins any better than the Gryffindors. He had even announced at the end of class that Evans had brewed a perfect potion and she was a muggleborn.

Before he could think anymore about it, Sirius was standing in front of Professor Slughorn bracing for the worst. Waiting to hear how much of a disappointment he was.

"Ah here it is," Slughorn said his voice completely absent of any menace. On the paper he had passed to Sirius to look at was a roster of the second year Slytherins and his name was on it!

"Professor – where did you get this?"

"Now you can understand my confusion. This roster was mailed to me about a month ago by the School Governors and I had remembered seeing your name on it. I didn't want you thinking I was crazy."

"Its no secret that my family would prefer I was in Slytherin, sir. One of my Uncles is on the board; he must have added my name by mistake."

"A mistake indeed! Well no harm done. You do you have a younger brother, yes?"

"He'll be starting Hogwarts next fall."

"Slytherin?"

"Most likely, sir."

"I'm not going to lie to you that it would have been nice to have you both in my House. The Black brothers…" he paused dramatically, "But what can we do?"

Upon seeing Sirius's face, he laughed causing his belly to bounce, "Don't worry, my boy, I'm not going to hold it against you."

Sirius was then dismissed and he quickly walked out of the room. Well the conversation went better than he expected, but it had been strange.

Outside the classroom another surprise awaited for him. Both James and Peter were waiting for him. He felt a smile involuntarily form realizing that everything with James was indeed ok. It was a great feeling knowing you had friends who cared enough to wait for you.

"So what did Slughorn want?" James asked standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Nothing…" Sirius said evasively noticing James give him a look that he didn't believe it. Friends or not, Sirius was not ready to discuss with anyone anything that dealt with his family.

"Let's go see if Remus is in the Hospital Wing," Sirius suggested and he effectively changed to topic of conversation.

Visiting Remus turned out to be much more difficult than any one of them would have guessed. When the nurse saw that none of them were injured she ignored them for 15 minutes while she helped a group of Hufflepuff fourth years that had bumps all over their faces from a Herbology accident. Finally when each Hufflepuff had a white paste all over their faces, she gave them her attention.

"Ok boys. May I help you?"

"Yes," James said, "We wanted to visit Remus Lupin. Is he here?'

The nurse considered James's question with more thought than Sirius thought was necessary. It was as if though she thought this was some big joke and they were all going to yell April fools or maybe September fools.

"Mr. Lupin is here, but I'm afraid no visitors are allowed."

"Is he alright?" Sirius asked in alarm. Lupin was very sickly very often.

"A good bit of rest is all he needs. I will be sure to tell him you came by when he awakes."

Sirius persisted, "Can we come by later when Lupin is awake?"

"I'm afraid I didn't make myself clear. Mr. Lupin is not allowed any visitors until he is out of the Hospital Wing."

"That's not fair!" Potter yelled causing all the Hufflepuffs to peer at the rowdy second year Gryffindor in alarm, "Why can't we see him! We're his friends!"

"I'm not budging from my decision. If you do not leave immediately I am afraid I will have to alert Professor McGonagall."

As much as they all wanted to argue more on behalf of their friendship with Lupin, none of them were eager to get in trouble with McGonagall for something like this so they left.

As the three of them heading to the dining hall for lunch, James insisted they go on ahead while he fetched some forgotten mysterious item in their room. Potter's absence left Sirius and Peter alone together. And if Sirius didn't want the deafening silence to continue, he would have to make conversation with Peter. It wasn't easy, since Sirius had been getting the feeling that Peter didn't really like him.

"I never asked you about your summer, Peter. How was it?"

Peter dripped his fork in surprise. "It was ok. Nothing interesting happened."

"I wish my summer had been uninteresting," Sirius remarked sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," Peter nervously mumbled.

"It's not your fault."

"Well, my mum's pregnant," Peter blurted. He looked surprised by his boldness.

"Lucky you, you get to be a big brother." His voice was loaded with sarcasm.

"It could be fun. You had _some _fun with your brother, right?" Peter asked desperately.

"Yea, until he learned to talk…"

"Oh no! Its going to be a nightmare. But my mum's so happy and so is my father."

Peter looked so crushed and worried about the prospect, that Sirius actually felt sorry for him.

"Well some people get along with their siblings…"

Finally returning from his trip to Gryffindor tower, James offhandedly begins, "I think it's about time for us to enact revenge on certain individuals …"

"Revenge?" Peter piped before Sirius could get a word out. James had mentioned revenge as if casually mentioning they should go play a game of chess.

Without really explaining his intention James continued as if they had all been inside his head all day. "Frederick needs to be dealt with first and whoever else we deem necessary."

"And who else do we deem necessary?" Sirius questioned realizing all of a sudden the reason why James would want to pull a prank on his cousin.

"Slytherins? They could always use a good prank, right?" James looked at Sirius quickly, "Only if it's ok with you though."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Why wouldn't it be ok? When do we start?"

"Tonight we'll discuss. There are too many ears right now."

Sirius turned his eyes on his food for a second and when he looked up an 11 year old girl was beside James looking at him in a very adoring manner.

"James! Oh there you are! I've been looking for you for the past few days! Have you been avoiding me?" The girl sat down vigorously beside him. Two girls who entered with her nervously sat down a few seats from her.

Sirius watched James grimace and he realized this new girl could be very interesting.

"Are you going to introduce me to your friends?" she asked batting her eyelashes. The still unnamed girl looked completely ridiculous and Sirius noticed students were starting to stare in their direction now.

"Sit with your own friends!" James hissed.

"I'm Victoria Dekker. Who are you?" she asked Peter who gave her a surprised look.

"Uh- Peter Pettigrew."

"Sirius Black," Sirius introduced himself flashing a smile and pushing his plate away from him.

"Oh! Everyone's been talking about you!"

Sirius scowled, "What have they been saying?"

"It wasn't all bad. And whatever was, I don't believe it. If James likes you, I like you."

"Victoria lave him alone," James said, "Go sit with your own friends."

Sirius grinned finding the bouncing girl rather amusing. Or it could have been the fact that she was annoying James.

"Some of my friends actually think you're really cute," she whispered to Sirius.

Sirius laughed, "And you don't?"

Victoria seemed to consider him, "You are rather handsome, but my heart belongs to- "

"Ok – WE need to go! Bye, Victoria." Sirius had never seen James get up so quickly from lunch.

"I'm still eating," Peter protested.

James, his face now completely red, would hear none of it. He dragged Peter off the bench as Peter attempted to grab the last piece of food still on his plate. Sirius shrugged at Victoria and followed his friends out.

"Uh! She's such a nightmare," James groaned leaning against the wall.

Sirius leaned against the wall beside him. "I think she's cute" and he added slyly, "I wonder who her heart belongs to?"

"If you breathe a word to anyone about that!"

"About what?" Peter wondered anxiously.

"You're lucky not everyone is as sharp as me," Sirius said softly, "Don't worry about it Pete."

"Don't call me Pete," Peter protested.

"So what do you want to do before class since the _love-of-your-life _interrupted our feeding?"

"Watch it Black."

"Who likes James?" Peter asked bewildered.

Sirius ignored his question and they headed outside for a bit.

That night after sneaking into the kitchen to grab snacks, the three boys all sat down on Peter's bed to discuss their prank plans.

"Well," James began chewing loudly on the cookie in his mouth, "Since we just want it to affect Frederick we have to think of something brilliantly simple."

"And what is brilliantly simple? Throwing some dungbombs at him?"

"Come on, that's a first year trick. We are mature second years now! I know he likes his fellow prefect in his year. If we can embarrass him in front of her, it will be even better.

"It would be even better if we do it in front of her and whole of Gryffindor. We're having a House meeting in three days, it would be a perfect opportunity if we can get it done on time," Sirius added.

"Professor McGonagall will be there though," Peters said, which sounded like something Remus would say.

"All that means is that we have to be a little more careful. It has to be flawless."

"So when are we going to hear this flawlessly brilliantly simple scheme?"

"Well I haven't thought of anything yet…" James admitted.

"So since we want to embarrass him, what embarrasses Frederick the most?"

"He cares a lot about his appearance, his hair, the shininess of his Prefect badge, stuff like that…"

"We could turn his hair a crazy color or shape?" Peter suggested.

"Peter, remember it has to be brilliant too, that's just simple."

"Don't listen to him, Peters. It's a fine idea, but he's right." James had a tendency to defend Peter when he was being dense.

"I think I've got it," Sirius said, "We have to thank Lupin later; I got this idea for him."

* * *

Remus Lupin awoke from what appeared to be a week long dream. He was momentarily alarmed about where he was until he recognized the ragged curtains that belonged to the Shrieking Shack. He moved about feeling all his muscles, many he didn't know existed till this night, tensing and crying out in protest.

He reached for the pot that he had to tap three times with his wand, which he carefully hid before each of his transformation to alert Madam Pomfrey that he was awake and that at her soonest convenience to fetch him.

Fully dressed and having drunk a full goblet of Pepper-me-up potion, Remus walked up to Gryffindor Tower mentally preparing himself for the barrage of questions that were sure to follow about his absence.

As he opened the door to the second year dorm, he stopped mid-stride in surprise.

James was sitting at his desk flipping through a book, while Sirius paced in front of him muttering things. Even though they were in such close proximity to each other, they were not yelling, arguing nor fighting.

"Remus!" Peter yelled as he walked out of the bathroom alerting his other two roommates of his presence.

"Lupin! Welcome to the land of the living!" James greeted with a wide grin. Sirius had stopped pacing and said hello as well.

Remus sat down on his bed, "So are you really going to make me ask? Or are you just going to tell me?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked his look of innocence was unnervingly convincing.

"Last time I check you were mortal enemies with Potter…"

"Oh? That," Sirius scoffed.

"Yes. _That._"

"Well you see Lupin, it really was a misunderstanding. There was no reason for us to be mad at each other," James explained.

"I know that. Sirius already told me. The question is why did you suddenly believe him?"

"I found evidence that the letter was forged…" James began.

"Where were you?" Sirius interrupted suddenly turning the tables. Instead of Remus in control of the conversation by asking Sirius and James questions, they would now be asking him questions.

"Yea, we went to visit you," Peter added helpfully.

"You did?"

Remus hoped he didn't look too worried about that idea. It would be suspicious for him to not want his friends to visit him when he was ill.

James watching his reaction carefully "The nurse wouldn't let us see you. She threatened to call McGonagall on us if we didn't leave."

"Well I had something really contagious…I'm sure she didn't want you to catch it."

"Cory was at the Hospital Wing last night. He said he was the only one there, all the other beds were empty," Sirius objected.

"Well—I--- I was in the second room…"

"There's no second room," Sirius argued.

"You just haven't seen it because it's only used in special occasions. It has only four beds and the walls are painted purple."

"What did you have?"

Remus sighed, "I don't know…it was some long name…"

"What were your symptoms?"

"That's really none of your business," Remus said shortly. He'd answered enough questions and sooner or later they would catch him in a lie.

Sirius stared at him long and hard and then motioned for James to follow him out of the dorm.

As James was about to leave he turned apologetically, "Sorry, Remus. We were just worried about you…"

Remus sighed heavily and flopped on his bed.

"They do that a lot," Peter whispered.

"What?"

"James and Sirius have been going off on their own a lot."

"Oh. Well, they still have a lot to work out and its not going to happen with us there."

Peter shrugged and then looking downcast left leaving Remus alone with his thoughts. Remus knew that he would have to come up with a better excuse this year than 'visiting his sick mother' or 'being sick himself' or he wouldn't have any friends left.

**A/N: Please let me know what you think and review! All those reviewers that did not sign their review, your response to what you wrote is in my profile. Also to let everyone know I usually put in my profile what's going on with the pending chapter so if its been awhile since I've updated and you're worried I'm going to discontinue with the story (which I have no intention of doing), feel free to check there! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Hogwarts…**

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long for this update. I miscalculated and the chapter wasn't ready for posting before my trip to Disney World. This chapter is long, so it should make up for it. Enjoy! **

The students of Hogwarts had a mixed reaction when they heard James had simply forgiven Sirius for his wrongdoings. It seemed that those who believed them were the ones spreading rumors about what Sirius had actually done. One of the silliest rumors was that Sirius had been plotting to kill James's pet kneazle in order to _hit him where it hurt_.. James didn't even have a pet kneazle.

The hardest group of students to convince about the sincerity of their friendship were their fellow Gryffindors; particularly the older students. The same people that treated James coldly pretended Sirius didn't exist. It would have been worse for James if his family wasn't so well liked and popular. Fortunately all the second year Gryffindors were on speaking terms with them and slowly others were following their lead.

The day of the first prank of the second year began with an ominous note.

First Peter spilled juice all over Potter's robes. And then the mail came. Most students looked forward to mail time. It was when parents sent kind words from home and packages of chocolate. Sirius highly doubted the black envelope in the owl's beak in front of him contained either.

Sirius was surprised by the letter. With all the excitement of the start of a new school year and becoming friends with James again, he had pushed aside the fact that his decision to stay in Gryffindor would have gravely disappointed his family. A quick glance at Bellatrix's menacing gesture, confirmed that they had not forgotten.

"What's that?" James asked curiously.

"Nothing," Sirius muttered throwing the letter into his bag. In that instance he understood how Lupin must have felt when they had excessively asked him about his absence.

There was no fooling James. He knew it was _something_. "Is that a letter from your parents?"

"I didn't know. I didn't open it, did I?" Sirius answered aggressively.

"Open it then." There was definitely a cheeky undertone to Remus's words.

"I would if I was the least bit interested in what my parents had to say."

Thankfully that ended the discussion about the letter and with the prank on Sirius's mind he too quickly forgot about it. Sirius had been working with James over the past few days on the prank and on concealing their plans from their roommates. It had been hardest to hide from Peter since he already knew about it. And Peter now followed them everywhere apparently not at all embarrassed by the reputation he was receiving as being a tag-along. It was much easier to conceal their mischief from Remus who was trying to catch up on the work he had missed. Sirius and James had no sinister reason for keeping it between themselves besides that Frederick had not slighted Peter and Remus.

With careful planning, they orchestrated a way to put the _hex _on Frederick. It all began fifteen minutes before the House meeting when James called Frederick over to the window where Sirius was hiding behind two large heavy red curtains. James had to keep Frederick in that stop for about five minutes while Sirius fervently cast the charms on the victim.

As Sirius slipped next to James, Remus and Peter he couldn't ever remember being so excited about a House meeting. He could see that James looked just as anxious as he did for this to go as planned.

Frederick began his speech by introducing himself, as if no one in Gryffindor knew who he was. Even the first years had quickly learned to be wary of the over-strict sixth year Prefect. Frederick began to prattle on about the House rules, house points, quiet hours, and respecting each other (especially the Gryffindor Prefects).

"With the way Gryffindor has been losing points so early in the year, we are never going to win the House Cup this year. If everyone would please try to control themselves…"

"As long as we win the Quidditch Cup!" Robert McCoy, the new Quidditch captain yelled. There was a rousing response in agreement from almost everyone. Even Professor McGonagall smiled.

"Yea- well though some might find that important-" Frederick gave a pointed look at McCoy who was smirking, "I think that we can all agree that the House Cup is more important."

There were quite a few snickers. Apparently not many students agreed with him. None of this deterred Frederick, he kept rambling on and on and on. Sirius looked at James with worry._ Had he done the spell right?_ They had practiced it a few times, but Sirius had to say the incantations a lot softer and faster than they had practiced. All their worries quickly vanished when Frederick's Prefect badge began to enlarge with every word that came out of his mouth. When it had reached a certain size it shrunk to regular size and then began to enlarge once more. A few students giggled. Then his hair began to grow with each word as well as change to a bright purple color. This time more students laughed and the few students that had been listening to his words now looked at Frederick to see what would happen next.

Finally his ears began to grow and no one held back on laugher when Frederick's ears were the size of his head.

"What's everyone laughing at?" Frederick demanded his face turning beet red. This only caused more laughter and Amber the other 6th year Prefect was looking at him with fright. She did not join in the laughter unfortunately. Though most of the other Prefects did join in, especially the new 5th year Prefect, Frank Longbottom.

"Your ears…your hair it's…" Amber tried to explain, but she couldn't apparently describe it.

Professor McGonagall tried to keep order, but things quickly spiraled out of control. Frederick began trying to see his reflection in the windows and after a few minutes McGonagall was able to reverse the effects of the spell.

The meeting did continue, but everyone was whispering excitedly to each other about what had happened. As everyone began to scatter back to their rooms, Frederick began going around and questioning random Gryffindors. Three fourth years were giving him a hard time pretending they knew something, but obviously Sirius knew they didn't have a clue.

Frederick was now eyeing him with suspicion. James also seemed to notice this and motioned them to leave before anyone started questioning them. They all knew Peter could not lie on the spot.

They were almost at the steps when they Frederick called out James's name.

James hesitated before turning around giving his cousin a glare. "You know, purple really is a good color on you."

Frederick frowned, "I guess I can't expect you to treat me with respect or any Prefect with respect when I look at your choice in friends. The Blacks seem to think they are above the law."

James shrugged, "You can't boss me around, Frederick."

"I can put you in detention though. And I have some questions for your _friend _Black."

"Ask away," Sirius said with a smirk. He could handle this pompous idiot.

"I **know** he did it. I could see the way he was looking at me, like he was expecting something to happen."

"I was bored out of my mind…" Sirius admitted.

"I don't know what you think, but Sirius was with me the entire day," James insisted. That statement was not a lie. They both had been together all day planning the prank.

"I know it was him! I can feel it. It would be better for everyone if you convinced your _friend _to confess."

Sirius leaned in, "Try proving I had anything to do with it."

Frederick looked so enraged that Sirius stepped slightly back wondering if the boy might just strangle him right there, "You won't be so cocky when you have a month of detention for this."

If Frederick thought he could scare Sirius into admitting his involvement by threatening with detention he would be sorely disappointed. Sirius gave him one last look to show he wasn't at all frightened and then headed up to their dorm with James, Remus and Peter in hot pursuit.

"What were you thinking?" James demanded.

"What?" Sirius asked falling on his back onto his bed.

"You just admitted to Frederick that it was you! He's not going to give up until he can prove it! He's as stubborn as a mule! You should have kept quiet and let me handle it."

"As if you were doing such a good job," Sirius said dismissively, "Oh! Just relax! How would he prove it unless one of us goes to him right now?"

"What if someone else overheard what you said? What then? McGongall is not going to trust our word against a Prefect?"

Cory Connor walked in as Remus said with a wry grin, "Mad at your cousin, James?"

"How'd you know it was them?" Peter asked in bewilderment.

"I found that spell last year, but we never were able to use it."

"We were going to thank you," Sirius said sitting up.

"He deserved it. Trust me," James said looking over at Remus and only noticing that Cory was now in the room, "Hey Connor."

"You guys did that?" Cory looked torn between admiration and disapproval.

"Great now someone else knows," mumbled James

Sirius looked straight at Cory, "This stays between us, understand?"

"If you aren't prepared to take the consequences of your actions, then maybe you shouldn't get into trouble. Who would I tell anyway?"

"Evans!" James and Sirius said together.

"She wouldn't tell…"

"Of course not because you aren't going to tell her…" Sirius reminded him.

"What do you against Lily?" Cory's face was rapidly turning red.

"The fact that she has a conscience," Sirius said grimly.

"Well if you lot didn't break the rules all the time."

"Come on Connor," James interrupted, "Rules are meant to be broken. A real Gryffindor would know that."

"A real Gryffindor?" scoffed Cory looking distinctly at Sirius, "Right. And your buddy there is? A Black could never be a true Gryffindor."

Sirius wasn't able to hide how stunned he felt. Cory had never mentioned his thoughts on pure blood or Sirius's family. Cory had never even raised his voice at any of them. He tented to be a "live and let live" kind of a guy. Sirius considered him even more even tempered than Lupin. He usually went with the flow and never made waves nor voiced controversial opinions. And now that very same person was threatening to rat them out.

It was Remus who spoke next, "Be reasonable, Cory. It was just a joke. And it's between James, Sirius and Frederick. We should all just stay out of it."

When Cory did not respond Sirius decided being reasonable was not going to work, "If you tell anyone…" He made his voice sound as threatening as possible. Peter looked a bit shaken by his tone of voice, but Cory had grown a backbone over the summer, "If you threaten me again, I will go straight to Frederick and McGonagall with the information I have."

With that stated, Cory strode across the room slamming the door to the bathroom. Sirius heard the shower being turned on next.

"Can you believe him?" thundered Sirius.

"You haven't done anything to him, have you Sirius?" Remus asked.

"What? Why? No. I never even talk to him."

"Well he seems ticked off at you."

"Well spotted, Lupin," Sirius remarked.

"I don't think he's going to tell," James said, but he didn't sound very convinced, "And if he does we'll just think of something. It's still their word against ours."

The night was basically ruined for them and they all went to bed early.

* * *

It was a general rule in the school that Professor McGonagall was not late for class. Though that day the second years were found waiting outside of a locked Transfiguration classroom. The Slytherins were waiting on one side of the hallway and the Gryffindors on the other. Though the Slytherins stood united, there was a rift between the Gryffindors and Sirius decided that it was all Connors doing. 

He must have told the girls about their argument last night because they were all glaring at the four of them. It may have been their fault that Cory was in a bad mood. James did throw a trip hex at Cory twice when he was entering and leaving the Great Hall.

It was quickly evident to everyone why McGonagall was late. They could hear her voice carrying down the hall, "No, Mr. Ward I cannot take students into questioning just for laughing during a House meeting." McGonagall sighed heavily, "No, not even the ones that laughed the loudest."

Sirius smirked at James who grinned back. Cory was watching them with no amusement in his eyes. _What was his problem?_

James had not been joking about Frederick being determined and McGonagall looked thoroughly annoyed by him.

"Mr. Ward I need to go teach my class now. You many come to my office later with further evidence."

Cory perked his head up with those words and Evans whispered something to him. Sirius had a feeling he had told her everything. Sirius could feel James tensing beside him.

They had planned everything to minimize the chances of getting caught. What good was it being pranksters if you couldn't get away with one simple prank?

"Please take your seats everyone. We are going to get started right away. Mr. Connor, Mr. Black, please come to the front of the room. You two will begin our lesson for today."

Cory stood up first and Sirius watched him warily go up to the front of the room.

"Mr. Black, we don't have all day."

Sirius joined Connor up in the front of the room and McGongall placed a block of wood in front of them.

"Alright. Mr. Connor, if you please try first. Using the same wand movement we learned last class. The wood should turn into a piece of brown cloth if done correctly."

Cory looked a bit sick and Sirius knew he had never been good with magic when being put on the spot. After five tries the block of wood remained.

"Nice try, Mr. Connor. Let's give Mr. Black a chance."

Sirius carefully concentrated on the block of wood before him. In two tries he successfully transfigured the block of wood into a brown cloth. Sirius grinned seeming the annoyed look on Cory's face.

"Well done. Five points to Gryffindor. I hope you all noticed Mr. Black's distinct hand movement. You must be confident in your wand movement at all times. Mr. Lupin and Ms. Evans you two are up next."

McGongall called everyone up in twos and once everyone had tried to complete the spell in front of the class they were allowed to try it at their desk.

By the end of class James was changing the wood back and forth into cloth casually and glaring at Cory for the 10th time that day said, "Ward is really getting on my nerves."

At that moment Cory was laughing at something Lily had said.

After class they had an hour break where they were supposed to spend time in the Great Hall. The boys sat in their usual spot. Remus promptly took out some homework.

"Put that away!" groaned James.

"I'd like to get ahead," Remus said, "Anyway what else is there to do?"

"We aren't entertaining enough for you?" Sirius pretended to look hurt, but Remus rolled his eyes.

So they ended up distracting Remus from his work. It wasn't an easy task and they had to resort to grabbing papers away and causing his quill to turn different colors. All in all it turned out to be an entertaining hour.

The next class of the day was Defense Against the Darks Arts. As bad luck would have it, they had it again with Slytherin. Besides Slughorn, they also had a new teacher for this subject, Professor Adair. She was a tall woman with sleek black hair that had a distinct shine to it.

This teacher was quickly turning out to be everyone's least favorite teacher. Not only was she strict, but she tolerated nothing that was not related to what they were studying. She also felt that the theory of the Defense of Dark Arts was more important than actually practicing. So they only got to use their wands every three class periods. Today was going to be a long day of notes.

They learned that Professor Adair had not attended Hogwarts, but she did have very apparent House favoritism. And per usual or as what Sirius had experienced with his limited time at Hogwarts, the favoritism was not directed at Gryffindor.

Sirius remembered his first day of class when Sirius and James hadn't even been on speaking terms yet and together they had lost 30 points.

It seemed that they couldn't do anything right. For example that particular morning, Sirius was discussing with James when the Quidditch tryouts were taking place before the teacher had walked in. And there was no rule against talking while waiting for your teacher to arrive.

Though the second Professor Adair walked in she promptly said, "I suggest the Gryffindors stop jabbering if they do not want to be assigned seats."

Though they stopped talking she apparently didn't feel this was enough and continued on with the words, "That means you Potter and Black. If I hear another word from either of you out of turn and I'm sending you to the Headmasters."

James looked so livid that he was barely stopping himself from telling her off. Without another word, Adair flicked her wand and the two blackboards filled with words. It was going to take awhile to copy all the notes.

James sighed and whispered, "I'm itching to use my wand."

How it was possible that Adair heard those words when Sirius had strained to hear James who was sitting right beside him, Sirius would never know.

"Mr. Potter! Why is it that you cannot follow simple directions? Are you incapable of keeping your mouth shut? Ten point off Gryffindor and that's being generous."

James grumbled an apology his fists clenching underneath his desk. Sirius went back to copying the long list of words when the door to the classroom opened and he heard a familiar clicking of heels. Sirius thought the noise sounded almost like his –

"Mrs. Black. What can I do for you?"

Sirius whirled around to see his mother standing in the middle of his classroom. Both Professor Adair and his mother acted as if this was a regular occurrence to see a parent at Hogwarts.

"I'm here for my son." His mother's words were harsh and abrupt.

"Are you aware you must see the Headmaster and fill out a slip?"

"Already completed."

Adair nodded and then continued acting as if his mother wasn't there. Mrs. Black walked over to his desk and grabbed his frozen body into a standing position. Sirius bent over to pick his bag, but his mother ordered him to leave it and pick it up later from Adair's office.

Without letting go of his arm she began to drag him out of the room. The Slytherins weren't the only ones enjoying his misery; Cory looked delighted, though Lily Evans had a frown on her face. James was shocked and outraged and before they reached the door, he shouted, "Professor! You are just going to let that mad woman take him? Just like that?"

Apparently they had not seen Adair outraged before because her dark grey eyes that most would describe as beautiful turned as hard cold as ice. There was not a line of sympathy on her face.

"I warned you, Mr. Potter. Twenty-five points off Gryffindor and go to the Headmasters office immediately."

While James was angrily stuffing his bag his mother pushed him out the door and handed him a duffel bag.

"Change out of those offensive clothes immediately!"

Sirius took the bag slowly trying to think of the nearest bathroom in that hallway. Sometimes the locations of the bathrooms changed from week to week. As he was deciding, James burst out of the room.

"So this is young James Pottter?" his mother hissed dragging out his name. She looked him up and down carefully as if assessing the danger this twelve year old child possessed.

James ignored them both, which only enraged his mother more. It was as if she wanted to pick a fight with Potter. Instead she took it out on Sirius, "What are you waiting for? Go change, you lazy boy!"

Sirius obeyed and changed into formal black robe with sliver lining. His mother marched him outside of Hogwarts grounds and took out of her pocket a small box. He was told to place a hand on it and suddenly he felt a tug at his navel as his surroundings began to swirl around him. He had only traveled by Portkey once before.

Their destination was at a deserted street that had many very old and worn down buildings, which was not an environment you would find a Black in very often. His mother began briskly walking to a door that had a roughly drawn green dragon on it. An elderly man, who looked as if he couldn't stand up longer than a minute, ushered them inside. Before closing the door, he took his time glancing from left to right a few times. Once he was sure no one had followed him besides maybe some fleas he bowed "Mrs. Black, it is an honor to serve you once again. Is your husband well?"

"Yes. Thank you. A booth in the back please for my son and me. I do not want to be disturbed. We will ring for service when we are ready."

"As you wish," the man bowed again and led them through two doors and finally to a pentagon shaped room that was empty except for two hooded figures. Sirius waited for his mother to sit before sitting which pleased her.

"Are you going to tell me why you brought me here, mother?" Sirius asked cautiously. For the past ten minutes his mother had been quite content to sit and stare at him in silence.

"Don't act as if I didn't warn you. I didn't have to send you that letter this morning."

It was then Sirius remembered the unopened letter still in his bag.

"I never opened it," Sirius admitted.

"If I send you mail I expect you to read it right away, understand?"

"I understand."

His mother than dug into her bag and took out a picture sliding it towards him. In the picture was a thirteen year old boy who was grinning and waving next to a frightened small child tied up and hanging upside down.

"That is your father," his mother said pausing, "That filthy Muggle child was his first assignment in the most elite pureblood group. Usually boys are not inducted until the age of 17, but both your father's father and grandfather had died and he needed to take the place in order to ensure a Black spot."

Sirius couldn't tear his eyes away from the struggling child. He was beginning to feel nauseous.

"If you think I would-"

"Nonsense, Sirius! There is no way they would take you yet anyway last name or not. You are not honorable enough nor do you have a talent they need, but you will. Your father's induction was a special case and though he was young he dealt with it because he cared about his family, which is something you clearly do not. He made sacrifices for his family because there is nothing more important than bringing honor to them. We've been grooming you since you were a baby to take on the role of head of this noble family, but unfortunately we have hit a snag with you."

Sirius turned the picture over with disgust.

"Don't be a child, Sirius. The Muggle lived and with no lasting memory. The boy was from a poor background most likely has robbed or murdered someone by now."

"I don't want any part of it. Not now and not ever!" Sirius cried out.

"Such passion, though misplaced. It is your duty as heir. We are not asking you. You do not have a choice. You will be part of it. Surely since you've gotten your way with staying in Gryffindor, you could sacrifice something for your family?" His mother stopped a moment to let him think her words over, "You will be attending a meeting with your father during winter break and there they will be assessing your potential."

"Why bother, mother? You know they won't take a blood traitor."

"It will be difficult. And though a _Gryffindor_ has never entered that society before, you are very clever. And that is a trait they pride on. I will be sending you certain reading material that I suggest you keep hidden from your roommates. It may upset them."

Sirius didn't say a word.

"I still cannot fathom how you managed to stay in Gryffindor. We had everything set for you to quietly and painlessly switch Houses. The Slytherins would have welcomed you and since Gryffindor didn't trust you, it wouldn't have been a surprise to them."

"The Sorting Hat still feels I belong in Gryffindor," Sirius lied.

His mother took out a small vial of solution, "Do you know what this is? Truth potion. It is not easy to come by, but fortunately I have my sources. If I feel you are lying to me, I will use it."

"What exactly would you rather hear? I didn't get resorted? I choose to stay in Gryffindor. Would that make you happier?"

"You **know** what would make me happy. Bellatrix tells me you have been seen in the company of James Potter very regularly. Is that true?"

"Yes. Not everyone is as distrustful as you."

"How did you manage to convince him?" His mother did look genuinely interested.

"I told him the truth."

"Maybe you should ask him if he was written to his parents about his renewed friendship with the Black heir. I would like to hear what they feel about that. Are his parents as forgiving as him?"

When Sirius didn't answer she continued, "Your selfishness has put me in dire situation."

"Why can't you let me do what I want? And groom Regulus to be your perfect heir."

"I can't do that. How will it look to all our friends that we couldn't even handle our own son? It would take a very long time for the Black name to recover from something like that. Though there has been a change in strategy. I am inviting some wives over for tea and I will complain publicly about your rebellion. We can't align ourselves with you any longer. It will hurt the family name a little, but by asking them for their opinion on how to handle you will help by boosting all their egos."

His mother picked up a small silver bell and within seconds a pretty young girl was at their service. She seemed in awe of his mother and bowed more than necessary. As food was served they did not speak to each other. Sirius hated the silence and he hated going against his parents. It wasn't easy and it wouldn't get any easier. Why didn't they just give up on him? Why did he still feel guilty for turning his back on them?

After his mother was done with her plate she said, "We thought of sending you away."

"Away?" Sirius asked startled.

"Yes. We were thinking a stricter school that upholds the values we are trying to instill in you. Though eventually your father insisted we keep you in Hogwarts because that is where our family has been educated since it was opened and it still has the best education. The staff has improved with Slughorn back and now that lovely women, Mrs. Adair."

Sirius almost choked on his glass of water not understanding how anyone could describe Adair as _lovely_.

"You know what I don't understand most of all, Sirius?" She didn't wait for his answer. "How did you become this way? How did one year at Hogwarts undo all our hard work? You grew up surrounded by anti-Muggle talk and yet you cringe at the sight of a Muggle child you don't even know hung upside down. We've kept your contact with other children to a minimum and those you have been with were all pureblood. Yet you've turned your back on all our beliefs. What happened? What went wrong?"

"It just did…I didn't mean for it."

"Maybe you didn't mean it at first, but now you are deliberately pitting yourself against us. I wish you could understand the pain and sorrow you have put me through. You have me at your wits ends and I almost thought of having your memory erased."

"Erased?" Sirius asked barely getting the word out of his mouth.

"I did research to find something that not only erased your memory, but also part of who you are. It obviously isn't just your experiences, but something else must be wrong with you. A few drops of a very precious liquid could erase who you are."

"To make me the perfect heir?" Sirius asked dryly.

"A potion such as that is very illegal. Though with enough money and pressure you can move mountains."

"Why didn't you? It would have made it easier for everyone."

"We do have some morals, Sirius. I didn't tell you about that to scare you. I told you that so that you realized the length we are willing to go through to help you. Your father and I want to be proud of you. I want to hear that you are on top of the Slytherin class. I want to receive letters from your teachers praising my parenting. I want to see you made into Prefect, and eventually Head Boy. You could do it all. I know you can. Regulus does not have the same potential as you."

"It's never going to happen, mother. If you could settle for those things in Gryffindor…'

"I could not."

Sirius stood up with is plate still half eaten, "Take me back to Hogwarts."

"Sit down. We are not done here. We are going to enjoy our dessert together."

The waitress had returned and seeing him standing up, "Sir, may I be of assistance to you?"

"No…" His mother began, but he cut her off, "Yes. I need to use the bathroom."

With a quick triumphant smile at his mother he followed the waitress to the bathroom. He'd never seen such a lavished bathroom. It was decorated as if it were the most important room in the whole restaurant. On the way there he had questioned the waitress if there were any fireplaces attached to the floo network. Unfortunately he could not run and he would be dependent on his mother to return to Hogwarts.

"Feeling better?" his mother asked as he joined her.

The rest of the meal and dessert consisted of her mother chatting about all their relatives, such as who was not talking to whom and who had just splurged all their money on a new magic carpet. It was all stuff that Sirius didn't care about, but it kept Sirius from having to speak to her. When they were ready to leave Mrs. Black instructed the waitress to _put it on the Black tab_.

The same old man who had initially led them in opened the door for them. Just as before, he looked to the right and left a few times before closing the door after them. A bellybutton tug away and Sirius saw the familiar Hogwarts grounds. The sight of the Quidditch posts in the background was very comforting.

His mother insisted that she escort him to Adair's office to fetch his bag. The door was closed when they arrived and Sirius could hear a strange smacking sound inside. His mother knocked on the door and they were allowed inside.

In the middle of the office stood James who upon hearing them entering had turned around. His eyes widened in surprise and it looked as if he had been near the verge of tears. Only then did Sirius notice that James had his hands extended and palms up.

"Mr. Potter!" the Professor said coldly, "Let us continue with your punishment."

James turned back and determinedly stared at the ground. She hit him an additional eight more times. James's face had turned red in embarrassment, but he didn't make a sound.

Adair looked satisfied and said, "That will be all, Mr. Potter. I want that apology letter five minutes before class tomorrow."

Without a word James left the office quickly. He wouldn't look any of them in the eye.

"Muggles do have _some _useful punishment techniques. Since he walked into my office I haven't heard a word out of him. Had a productive visit?"

His mother's eyes were on him now, "I think that Sirius understands things a bit more clearly now. I leave him in your capable hands. If he gives you any trouble you may punish him as you see fit."

"It will be my pleasure. Good day, Mrs. Black."

His mother left without wishing him goodbye. Sirius didn't feel any comfort in seeing her leave.

"Even though you missed the second part of my class, I still expect your homework to be handed in tomorrow."

Sirius nodded.

"Your schoolbag is there," she motioned to a chair in the corner. Sirius couldn't wait to get out of the room, so with a scoop of his bag he was almost out the door.

'Did I say you could leave?"

"No," he forced himself to stay respectful, "Professor."

"I'm concerned about your choice in friends, Potter and Lupin. Your parents have raised you better."

Sirius braced himself for another lecture.

"Continue to be with them and I'm sure we will be having many of these fun meetings. Potter is headed for trouble and Lupin- well Lupin is not worthy to breathe the same air as purebloods like us. You may leave."

Sirius was out the door almost in the same instance that she had finished the sentence. He arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room in record time.

"Bobble bubble gum!" He was allowed inside and though it was still relatively early the Common room was more empty than usual. James was sitting in a one of the chairs near the fire and Sirius joined him.

James still wouldn't look at him and Sirius could relate to the humiliation he had felt in the office. He had dealt with that over the summer in the presence of his cousins and younger brother.

"So…" Sirius began lamely.

"How was your trip with your mother?"

If James didn't want to talk about what happened Sirius wouldn't force him.

"She took me out to eat. Almost like a normal mother…"

James grinned, "Is she still ticked off about you being in Gryffindor?"

"Yes and _that_ will never change. She wasn't too happy that we were friends either."

"Secrets out then?"

"I'm sure she already knew. Bellatrix writes to her every few days or so I suspect."

"Maybe," James agreed.

Sirius without thinking blurted out, "I was thinking you should tell Dumbledore…"

"Tell him what?"

"Is Adair allowed to hit students?"

James sighed, "I'm not going to tell on her. It will just make it all worse. Plus my detention was scheduled for Saturday during Quidditch tryouts. I begged McGonagall to ask her to change it. I don't know how she did it, but she allowed me to serve it tonight."

"What happened to cleaning an old crusted cauldron or writing lines?"

"I'm not going complain. As long as I don't miss Quidditch tryouts, that was all that mattered. And anyway, I'd rather her not know that the punishment bothered me enough to whine to the headmaster about it. Imagine if she found out, I don't think I'd be able to breathe in class without losing points."

"Well I know Adair is not good, since my mother complemented her. How did McGonagall convince her anyway?"

"Who knows? She told me it's about time the Quidditch team got some new blood. She didn't seem to upset about my outburst. She told me that there was a time and a place to make a stand and I had to learn when the right time was."

"Adair hates Lupin too."

"She does? Why?"

"Probably because he's a half-blood, remember?"

"How would she know that? Anyway he's a wizard just like the rest of us."

"Not everyone sees it that way, James. It doesn't mater if you think it's wrong. It doesn't change what other people believe."

"I don't think it's wrong. It is wrong! And I don't think you realize that?"

"That blood doesn't matter?"

"Yes."

"I do to."

"Do you really? I know you haven't been getting along with your parents. But are you just going against their beliefs to hurt them or do you really believe what they've taught you all along is wrong?"

Sirius couldn't answer him. He just couldn't. He hated James for being so sure and unwavering in his beliefs. Sirius began climbing the steps to the dorm when he remembered something his mother had said.

"Have you told your parents yet?" he called out to James.

"Told them what?"

"That we are friends again."

His words hung in the air silently. James lowered his head and that was all the answer Sirius needed. As Sirius lay down on his bed he knew there was truth to James's words and that was why they had hurt. He was angry at his parents and at times he wanted to hurt them as they had hurt him. And yet at other times he felt guilty and wanted them to be proud of him. Truth be told, Sirius didn't know what he believed when it came to blood.

How could James be so certain about something that was causing Sirius's world to crumble all around him? James did apologize the next morning, but his words had done the damage. It would be awhile before Sirius would forget them.

**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review. If you left an unsigned review for chapter 8, your response is in my profile. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Nothing new here, it still belongs to Rowling. **

**A/N: Sorry everyone, once again it took me forever to update. I just couldn't get into writing at all and once I had the first draft written I couldn't bring myself to look over it; I don't know what's wrong with me this summer. I still really love this story and do want to continue it. I am really happy with this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. Again I'm sorry for the long wait and I thank you all for being patient and sticking with the story. **

Remus Lupin always prided himself in being responsible, level-headed and punctual. That's why he couldn't understand why he was the one tearing the room apart looking for his lost shoe.

Remus was usually the first one to be ready and had a tendency to chide his roommates for taking too long.

"You can borrow one of my shoes," James offered. It was a kind offer, but James's feet were a whole size bigger and he wouldn't be able to concentrate for the entire day until he found it.

"I need to find it!" Remus cried out loudly though thankfully his voice sounded muffled since he was under the bed.

He could hear Peter whining about being late. Peter was terrified of Professor Adair with good reason. Though Peter, out of the four of them had never been singled out by the Professor in class.

Surprisingly Sirius told James and Peter to go ahead to class. There was some argument, but by the time Remus had come out from under the bed only Sirius remained.

"You don't have to wait for me," Remus said.

_Why was he waiting? _Both Sirius and James had been distant toward him since the last full moon. He couldn't blame them. Remus wasn't a very good liar so it was probably blatantly obvious that he wasn't telling the truth.

"Ah, I'm not afraid of Adair. She already thinks the worst of me. I might as well live up to her expectations."

Remus frowned slightly. He couldn't disagree more. He was always trying to change the Professor's expectations of a werewolf wizard. He wanted to show them that it didn't affect his magical ability at all.

"Cheer up! Is this what you're looking for?"

The black haired youth was holding his missing black loafer.

"Where did you find it?" Remus demanded.

"It was under Peter's bag. I spotted it when they left. Don't be too hard on the lad."

Remus couldn't help but smile, "Thanks, Sirius."

After he had tied his shoelaces they were already on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

As they walked along Remus tried to think of a topic to talk about.

"So what did you think of the homework?"

_Why was it that all he could ever talk about was schoolwork?_ Especially when talking to his peers. Remus knew Sirius didn't consider completing homework as a priority, so he couldn't understand why Sirius's face whitened considerable.

"Adair assigned homework, didn't she?" Sirius's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yes. Did you forget to do it? Well you weren't really in class, so I'm sure she'll give you an extension."

"No, I saw her afterwards. She expects me to complete it. I didn't mean to forget. With my mum visiting and then…" Sirius abruptly stopped in the hallway.

"I can't go. She'll kill me. I'll just skip class!"

"What? You can't do that! You already missed yesterday!" Remus would never understand how some people could just skip class. Remus hated skipping class even for good reason, such as turning into a vicious beast once a month.

"I don't care. Tell her I'm sick…"

Remus glanced at his wristwatch. There was still five minutes until class started. The best solution Remus could come up with was letting Sirius copy his homework. He reasoned with himself that helping a friend did not count as cheating. He wanted James and Sirius to like him. He needed to be liked. This would be a golden opportunity and Sirius was genuinely concerned about forgetting his homework – it could happen to anyone. And with a mother like Sirius could he blame him for forgetting something as mundane as an assignment?

"You can copy my homework," Remus offered before he could talk himself out of it.

"Seriously?"

Remus smiled, "You did find my shoe."

"Consider us even then," Sirius said with a grin.

They plopped themselves down near the classroom, but far away enough that no one from inside the classroom could see them. Adair usually entered from the faculty door that was inside each classroom, so there was a slim chance she or anyone else would catch them.

The only vaguely suspicious thing Remus saw was Snape gazing at them and promptly slinking into the classroom. Though it really wasn't _that _unusual, Snape had a habit of _slinking_ everywhere he went. Remus didn't consider Snape a pleasant fellow, yet at the same time he didn't harbor ill feelings toward the odd boy like James and Sirius.

A hovering shadow brought Remus out of his daydream. _Scratch that._ It wasn't a harmless shadow, but a raging windy storm about to erupt. That shadow belonged to Professor Adair and she was staring down at them as if they were two pieces of worthless dust. Remus watched her face grow taunt and her mouth grim and it appeared as if she were enlarging at the same time. Remus did not have to look over at Sirius to tell that he was just as terrified of this woman.

"Having your own class out here, boys?" Her voice sounded sing-songy. That sound startled Remus more than the cold hard voice she usually used when reprehending students. Remus wished he could vanish the two pieces of incriminating evidence in Sirius's hands.

"Well?" she demanded when neither of them answered. Remus hadn't thought she had actually wanted a real answer.

"We're allowed to be out here. The bell hasn't rung yet," Sirius said.

And just as Sirius finished speaking the first bell rang (you better be about to enter the classroom), then the second bell (you better be in your seat) and the last bell (you're late!).

"You're late now! Hand over your homework."

As Sirius passed her their sheets of paper, Remus realized a second too late that they should have told her that they had been unable to complete the assignment instead of giving her evidence that they had cheated. Adair stared at their sheets for a long time allowing all sorts of horrible punishments to enter their minds.

"Stand up!" Professor Adair commanded. They scrambled to their feet. "Front of the classroom. Immediately."

It dawned on Remus that Adair was planning to question them publicly – to humiliate them and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. Sharing a look with Sirius as they entered the classroom, Remus wished Sirius looked more defiant. All eyes fell on them and James looked very worried. Remus hoped James would stay quiet and not get caught up in the mess. Adair appeared slamming their parchments onto a desk and with a flick of her writs there were now two larger versions of their work displayed so the entire classroom could see them.

"Tell me Mr. Black, why does your unfinished homework look identical to Mr. Lupin's?"

"Great minds think alike," Sirius's voice wavered, but he firmly added "Professor" as an afterthought.

"Amusing, Black. That was really amusing. Would you like to change your answer or should I just keep docking points of Gryffindor?"

"How many did I lose so far?" Sirius muttered.

"It was Ten. Now it's now Twenty."

"He was copying my homework, ma'am," Remus blurted out before Sirius could say anything more.

"Would you two care to share with me why you feel that Mr. Back is special enough that he doesn't have to complete his homework on his own?"

Remus wanted to explain- tell Adair- he wasn't what she thought. With Sirius's next words he ruined any chance of Adair going soft on them.

"I am special, Professor. I'm the heir to the Noble and Ancient House of Black."

Adair didn't take lightly to the cheek.

"Watch your tongue Mr. Black," Adair thundered, "I am as tolerant with rudeness as I am cheating. You lucky boys are about to test my tolerance as well as serve as an example for the rest of your classmates."

She turned from facing Sirius to facing the classroom.

"When you let someone else copy your work you are being disrespectful to yourself. You are cheating yourself and you are hurting the person who should be doing the work themselves. No matter what assignment I give you I expect you to work on it on your own. You have questions you do not ask your classmates. You ask me. I hope this is crystal clear to everyone because this is your one and only warning. Cross me or test me and you will find yourselves in Mr. Black's and Mr. Lupin's shoes. Twenty five points each from Gryffindor, you each will be receiving a zero on the assignment, and after class you will be visiting your Head of House."

Adair turned to glare at them once more for good measure. "Take your seats!"

Sirius started for the open table in the back near James and Peter, but Adair stopped him making them sit in the vacant table right in the front center of the room. Remus took out his notebook as quietly as possible. _A zero! It was the first zero he had ever received on an assignment. _

"And before I forget I'm awarding Slytherin 10 points. A student who will remain anonymous alerted me about Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin."

Remus could feel James's eyes upon them. James was most likely burning with questions, but they would have to wait. Remus did not remember a thing that was discussed during that entire period. His face was still burning from the public embarrassment and his mind kept going to what McGonagall would say. A lecture from Adair and McGonagall on the same day would be torture.

The moment class ended James was on his feet and beside them whispering questions rapidly. Before they could explain to him what had happened, Adair stepped in. She forced James to leave and it was obvious that he was very reluctant to leave them alone in her evil clutches. With no witnesses, Adair could do anything.

Professor Adair began to pace in front of them and said, "I expected behavior like this from someone like you, Mr. Lupin," Remus physically recoiled. She _knew_ he was a werewolf, all the staff did. It had been one of the requirements that Dumbledore had stated, this way the teachers would understand his absences without any additional trouble. "But, Mr. Black you should know better. Your parents have brought you up better and I will inform them about his. Someone with your upbringing should not resort to such barbarian ways."

"I'm sure the Black fortune was obtained entirely by legal means- no cheating at all," Sirius said sarcastically. Remus desperately wished Sirius would stop being so cheeky. Adair wanted them on their knees telling her how sorry they were and not muttering sarcastic things under their breaths.

Adair raised her eyebrows, but herded them down the hall way to McGonagall's office without saying another word. Remus could only hope Adair would remember that he had stayed respectful.

"May I help you?" McGonagall asked not pleased by the interruption.

"Yes, Minevera. These boys would like to tell you something."

Before Sirius could say something that would enrage McGonagall Remus blurted out the truth. He told her everything.

"Is that right, Mr. Black?" she asked him sharply. Remus realized he had made it sound as if he had caused the incident, which in truth he really had.

"Most of it. It was my fault though I forced him."

"No, it was my idea. If I hadn't offered…"

"I see," McGonagall said her lips pursed even more and she considered them for a few very long silent minutes. Instead of addressing them she turned to Professor Adair.

"I understand this is your first time teaching, but this is a very common infraction amongst students. In such close living quarters many students opt for the easy way out. Not to say that it shouldn't go unpunished, but it doesn't really warrant a visit to my office. Next time a letter would have been most efficient to let me know the problem that had occurred."

"So I am _allowed _to punish students as I see fit?"

"Yes. You caught them, so it is in your right to dictate the punishment." McGonagall looked bored.

"I see. I was confused. Only yesterday you stepped in for Mr. Potter's punishment. I thought I had to have your permission"

McGonagall seemed to be looking at Adair in a whole new light. "That was a special circumstance."

"I highly view Quidditch tryouts as a special circumstance! I think Mr. Potter would have learned a very important lesson had been forced to miss it. I can see why Gryffindor has the most misbehaved students out of the houses with a Head as relaxed as you.'

"House Quidditch is a _very _important tradition at the school. Mr. Potter still served the detention, there was no harm in that."

"No harm, expect that my authority was undermined."

"If you wish to discuss this further, I suggest you speak with the Headmaster."

Adair turned to them now, "I expect to see you two tomorrow morning at 9:00 am in my office," Adair turned to leave and then as if this was an afterthought (such as asking where someone bought that delicious pie they had just served for dinner), "Is physical punishments still allowed at Hogwarts?"

Professor McGonagall did not bother to hide how shocked she felt. "Technically it is. But none of the teachers use that anymore. It's been years…"

"I find it to be a most useful means…" Adair was watching Sirius's reaction with interest.

"I don't think the boys did something that…"

Adair did not let her finish, "I'm afraid we will have to agree to disagree. I think what they did was very serious. Apparently Hogwarts wishes to teach is students that cheating is not that a big deal. Well I intend to make my policies on cheating crystal clear. If I'm lucky I won't have to deal with any cheating all year and who knows if the punishment is severe enough, stories of my cruel nature might be circulated for years."

Remus felt his body start to tremble. This woman was mad, insane – how had Dumbledore allowed her a teaching position. He generally enjoyed the classes best with no-nonsense teachers, but not like this. Adair seemed to think she had made her intentions clear because she left them standing heads bowed in front of McGonagall.

McGonagall sighed heavily," Gentlemen you will do whatever Adair asks of you for however long she demands."

"What if she?" Remus couldn't say it.

"Hits us?" Sirius finished for him.

"It isn't against any rules. There isn't much I can do. Please remember that Adair doesn't need much encouragement to punish students – particularly Gryffindor – without you handing it to her on a silver platter."

Before they left Remus tried to implore to McGonagall that they were really sorry. He didn't want to be labeled as a troublemaker. She seemed to understand, but besides that she was unable to give them any solace. Adair's punishment was going to be rough and painful.

When James finally had a chance to talk with them right before dinner the first words out of his mouth, "Are you guys crazy? Right in front of the classroom?" James shook his head in disbelief, "I thought you would have more sense, Remus."

Sirius nodded peering at Remus as if he had seen him for the first time – as a real troublemaker. "You did surprise me when you offered your homework. You're always so careful with yours. Not smudging the ink…"

"Or writing too big," James said grinning.

"Or writing to small," Peter added.

It had been out of character of him. Remus smiled widely, "I'm a marauder at heart."

Is this what it took to impress James and Sirius? _Oh well_ Remus thought _He'd bask in their admiration for as long as he could have it._

"So what happened at McGonagall's office?" Peter asked.

Sirius shrugged, "Adair is still upset about McGonagall stepping in with your detention. I think she's going to take it out on Lupin and me."

"Sorry," James muttered.

"We can take it," Sirius said grimly.

"When is your detention?"

"Tomorrow morning?"

"During Quidditch tryouts?" James sounded disappointed.

"Well its not as if Remus and I were going to try out," Sirius said.

"Right," James said softly.

"We would come and watch if we could," Remus said understanding that James had hoped for their support.

James sent him a look of gratitude as Peter announced that he would be watching. They all stood awkwardly before deciding it was time to go down to dinner. Conversation followed easily the rest of the night and Remus was happy to have something to keep his mind from the next day's detention.

* * *

Lily Evans glanced up at the clear blue sky and then back again at her roommate and friend, Adrianna Wood. She had never seen Adrianna act so nervous, so Lily took it as her duty to keep her friend's mind off the Quidditch tryouts that would begin soon. The fact that more students than expected had come to watch was not helping Adrianna's nerves. Most of the students filling the stands were probably there out of boredom, though some like Lily had come to support a friend. 

"Are the Captains from the other Houses allowed to be here?" Lily asked. She had been surprised to see them in the first place and even more alarmed to see them with notebooks.

"Yes. After that it's understood that members of opposing Quidditch teams stay away from any other practice, but cheating always happens," Adrianna twirled a strand of her dark brown hair and Lily noticed she was waving James Potter over to their spot.

"Alright Potter?" Robert McCoy, Gryffindor's Captain called out to James as he walked by, a new expensive looking broomstick slung over his shoulder. James returned Robert's greeting as if he talked with the older boy on a daily basis. Lily felt a twinge of jealousy remembering that only five minutes ago Adrianna had waved at Robert and he hadn't noticed her. Then again at that precise moment there had been three female students vying for his attention.

Robert McCoy was sitting on a wooden box labeled "Quidditch Supplies" with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team sprawled around him on the grass. McCoy was tall with curly blond hair and crystal blue eyes. James saw Lily studying him and he smirked in her direction. Lily felt blood involuntarily rushing to the surface of her face. She couldn't understand why James was having this effect on her. It was becoming a nuisance especially since Lily didn't particularly like James's company.

This strange phenomenon had started when she was playing a game one of her roommates had dubbed "Secrets". Mattie Carter had wanted everyone to spill which second year boy they found most attractive. Everyone else had named Sirius Black and no one could deny Sirius's good looks. He could make any girl's heart flutter. Thank Merlin he was not aware of his effect on females yet because Lily had a feeling he would become impossible to be around. Without really thinking ahead of the consequences, Lily had named James Potter and ever since then she had acted as if she really did have a crush on him whenever he neared her. Lily was positive her feelings toward James had not changed; James still annoyed her as much as he did last year. Adrianna gave her that smile that meant she knew exactly what Lily was thinking as James chivalrously greeted them with a, "Hello girls."

Lily only blushed deeper wishing she had some control over her body.

"I wish it would start already," Adrianna gave the competition another look around.

"Me too. I've been practicing all summer, though not on this broomstick."

Adrianna looked longingly at James's broom, "You're lucky. My parents wouldn't even consider looking at prices of broomsticks until I made the team."

Lily gave her friend a strange look. Adrianna had never expressed wanting a new broom with her – her closest, maybe even best friend. And Lily felt slightly betrayed by Adrianna because they hadn't discussed a cease on the no-speaking terms with Potter and his gang. Cory had told them all about the argument with the boys and out of loyalty they had all bonded together with him by not speaking to James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

It hadn't really seemed to bother the other boys though, so Lily figured it wouldn't hurt to speak with James. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cory approaching and oddly he was carrying a broomstick. He had attempted to sling it over his shoulder like James, but he couldn't quite pull it off. He looked awkward and out of place on the field. Lily wasn't sure exactly what he was doing there. Last she had seen Cory was when he mumbled about _things to do _after inhaling his breakfast. James noticed Cory before Adrianna did and narrowed his eyes. Cory just stared back and Lily found herself thinking of what Grace Landon, another one of her roommates, had said about Cory having his own crush on Lily. It would the simplest explanation for why he was suddenly fighting with his roommates when he had always gotten along with them. Lily had originally been proud to see Cory standing up for himself, but now she was worried that it was because Cory knew Lily had a crush on James, so he saw James as a threat. It was really dumb of Cory to be jealous because regardless of her reaction to James, Lily enjoyed Cory's company over Potter's. She knew this "crush" would go away eventually on its own.

"What are you doing here?" Adrianna exclaimed as Cory joined them.

"This is Quidditch tryouts, isn't it?" Cory said coolly eyeing James's broom with distaste.

"You told us you weren't coming," Adrianna continued.

"I said I wasn't coming to _watch_."

"What else would you be doing here?" James asked joining in a conversation that he should have kept out of.

"I think the answer to _that_ is obvious."

"You mean?" Adrianna looked taken aback.

"Yes, I'm trying out," Cory glanced at Lily to see her reaction. Since Lily hadn't expected it she was a little late in reacting in a positive way.

She recovered with, "It's great you're trying out." She knew her smile didn't quite come over as sincere. Last time she had seen Cory on a broom he hadn't exactly shown a natural ability in the air.

"You do know what being a chaser involves," James says a bit cockily, "Such as being a good flyer."

"I am aware of all the requirements. I talked with McCoy about being added to the tryouts list late and he didn't have a problem."

"Are you sure about this?" Adrianna didn't look convinced.

"See! This is why I didn't tell anyone! I knew you would try to talk me out of it! I'll show you all!" Cory took his broom and went to stand by himself closer to where McCoy was still perched on his box.

"Go talk with him," Adrianna whispered nudging Lily.

"Can you? Please?" Lily whispered back and Adrianna grudgingly strode over leaving her alone with James. Alone with James, Lily couldn't think of a thing to say so she stuck with how she usually talked to James by lecturing him.

"Would it hurt for you to be nicer to Cory?"

"Come on Lily. Being chaser is more than being able to fly from point A to point B. Unless your friend Connor has transformed into an amazing flyer over the summer, he's going to embarrass himself."

Lily agreed with James, but she didn't want to let him know, "I bet he's been practicing all summer!" _There! That sounded very loyal to Cory; no matter what Lily was feeling inside. _

"I hope you are right."

"I am!"

James rolled his eyes and he seemed to be looking for someone else to talk to.

"I need to talk to you about something else."

"What have I done now?" James asked exasperatedly.

Lily flushed, "I didn't mean to imply you've done something wrong."

"But I have, haven't I?"

"Well- I suppose. Could you lay off Cory?"

"Excuse me?"

"Isn't it a bit childish to throw a trip hex at him when he's not looking?"

James gave her a careful look, "You don't know the full story."

"He told me everything," Lily admitted and quickly added, "But you should be thankful!"

"Thankful? _Thankful? _Why because he included you in something that doesn't concern you at all?"

"I persuaded him to keep quiet about it all."

"So you've fixed everything? Come to our rescue?"

"I was doing you a favor. He was ready to snitch on you!"

"Maybe you should let people make their own decisions." His voice was cold.

"Just leave him alone! Please!"

James shook his head in disbelief and Lily never received a proper answer because Robert was starting tryouts.

Robert stood on top of the wooden box, "If everyone who is not trying out please leave the field!"

After a few seconds only 16 students were left. It seemed to Lily that most of the students trying out were a lot taller and older than her friends.

"Please find a partner and line up in front of the box."

Adrianna partnered with Cory, which Lily was thankful for. Maybe this would boost his self esteem a bit. James and a fourth year named Darien were first in the air. Basically they had to fly around the Quidditch field showing off their abilities. On the third time round they had to each pick up a Quaffle that was on the ground (diving at it if possible) and throwing it through one of the hoops. On the fourth time around – McCoy would throw up a Quaffle at them and they had to pass it back and fourth twice around the pitch flying at a moderate pace.

Even Lily had to admit that James and Darien flew flawlessly.

During Adrianna's and Cory's turn, it became painfully obvious that Cory's level of flying was nowhere near the rest. Cory did fly better than Lily had remembered, maybe he had been practicing. Still the improvement wasn't enough, especially since his throwing was weak and he could not dive to get the ball. (Four other players had also botched the dive, so at least he wasn't the only one) Lily hoped that being Cory's partner wouldn't reflect badly on Adrianna.

Next they had to score one on one on the keeper: best out of ten attempts. Both James and Adrianna received seven out of ten. The best was a seventh year girl her black hair in braids with a score of nine out of ten. Luck was on Cory's side, he was last to go and by that time the keeper was tired and less enthusiastic, so Cory managed to score five out of ten.

There was then a five minute break to give the keeper some rest before the scrimmage portion. During the break James and Darien threw a Quaffle between them. On the other hand, Cory just sat on the ground looking beaten. So Adrianna looking lost with no one else to really talk with sat beside him. Robert was taking notice of everyone's behavior and Lily knew neither Adrianna nor Cory would be receiving any bonus points.

Each scrimmage lasted eight minutes and the teams were randomly selected. Lily paid the most attention to the second scrimmage. On one side were James, Darien and Robert McCoy as well as on of the beaters and on the other side Adrianna and the seventh year girl in braids with the other beater and the keeper. Finally not having to worry about Cory, Adrianna flew with more ease and even if she wasn't the one of her best friends, Lily would have been impressed. Unfortunately everyone else was also on their top game.

Cory was in the next group to scrimmage and he stayed pretty much out of all the plays until McCoy threw him a pass which he attempted to score with but missed the goal by a few feet. After everyone had a chance to fly in a game-like atmosphere, McCoy announced tryouts were over.

"Thank you all for coming. This will be a hard decision that the team and I will make together. Not only do you have to have the skill required for chaser, you must fit in with the team. The new rooster will be posted on the Gryffindor bulletin board at 3:00 pm tomorrow!"

Lily ran down the stands to where Adrianna and Cory were standing. She noticed James and Darien as well as some of the others trying out still chatting with the other members of the Quidditch team. _Good strategy_ – she mentally noted.

"You both flew fantastic," Lily said encouragingly.

"Not me," Cory said miserably, "I was horrible."

"You weren't horrible," Lily insisted, "But you can't expect out of nowhere to suddenly be able to play Quidditch. Not when there are others who have been practicing for years."

"Like Potter," the venom in his voice surprised Lily.

"He's sure to make it," Adrianna said wistfully, "He sure can fly."

"When he wasn't showing off," Cory muttered.

"Showoff or not, McCoy likes James," Adrianna countered, "And he makes the final decision."

"I didn't think it was fair that you didn't get a chance to fly on the same team as McCoy," Lily said.

"Oh? I was glad actually. I would have been even more nervous! Imagine if I had dropped one of his passes?"

James had now extracted himself from the group he was talking with and was walking toward them with Peter Pettigrew in tow. Lily hadn't noticed Peter in the stands before and she briefly wondered where Black and Lupin were.

"I'm exhausted. That was a challenging tryout." James yawned as if to prove his word.

"Exactly what I thought," Adrianna said, "I thought it would last less than an hour instead of close to two and a half."

"McCoy's insistent Gryffindor win the Cup this year. He doesn't want to make a mistake; he wants the two best players. The two players that will help bring home the championship."

From the crowd of dispersing students a first year girl came barreling towards James. Lily tried to control her laughter. Victoria Dekker was becoming well known for her infatuation with Potter.

"James! James," she called, "Didn't you hear my calling before?"

James looked away, but she didn't seem to notice his disinterest, "Did you hear me cheering for you? I know you'll make it. I just know it! And then I'll come to all your games. I'll be your number one fan. Where are Sirius and Remus anyway?"

James hesitantly answered, "Detention."

"Surprise there," Cory muttered. James's eyebrows rose up and he gave Cory a death glare. Lily braced herself, but she was pleasantly surprised.

"You flew better than I thought, Connor," James said seriously, "Practice a little more and you might have a chance in a few years."

Lily smiled knowing this was James's way of telling her he would lay off Cory. Lily had to make sure Cory didn't instigate him though.

"He's right Cory," Lily interjected before Cory would undo the damage she had just repaired. Cory looked surprise and a bit betrayed by her remark. Cory mumbled that he was going to take a nap.

"We also have to get going," Adrianna said, "Coming with us James?"

"Nah! I'm going to hang around here for awhile."

"With me?" Victoria said hopefully.

"Where are your friends?" James asked.

"In the library. They wanted to give me alone time with you…"

Lily sharing a smile with Adrianna followed Cory into the castle leaving James in the mercy of his eleven year old admirer.

**A/N: Well I decided to bring Lily's voice to the story for the first time. I didn't intend for the readers to see her point of view just yet, but every time I tried writing the tryouts through James's point of view I didn't like how it was sounding. Also I finally named two of Lily's three roommates besides Adrianna. I don't think I mentioned them by name before in the story. **

**Thanks for reading and if you have a moment please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Though I got the rough draft of this chapter written very quickly, it took a lot of rewording and changing to get it where I wanted it. I am very happy with it and I hope you all enjoy it. **

**Also I made a note of this in my profile, but with some of the names and spelling of the characters have been changed chapter to chapter. This is my fault because I never kept a list or track of it, but now I have and when I have spare time I will be going back to old chapters so all the names and spellings are consistent. **

With a sigh of relief, James Potter sank into the closest couch to the entrance of the common room. So far it had been a perfect day. His flying had been close to perfect during Quidditch tryouts. Now it was about two hours after tryouts and he was contemplating which of the 16 players presented real competition. Certainly Darien Robertson, his flying partner and the seventh year girl with pigtails; Andrianna as well though more for her potential than her skill at the present moment and there were the two sixth year boys who were friends with Robert McCoy.

Peter joined him shortly, taking the seat next to him on the couch. He had his History of Magic homework unfinished in his lap. "I'm bored," he said looking at James hopefully for distraction.

"I'm too tired to do anything," James said, "Anyway you need to finish those questions."

Peter grumbled to himself, but he turned his attention at least away from James. At the present moment all James wanted to do was imagine helping Gryffindor bring home the House Cup this year and by his seventh year being hounded by Professional Quidditch agents.

"Maybe Remus will help me when he gets back…" Peter murmured jolting James out of his daydream.

"Hmmm…they have been gone a long time, haven't they?"

Peter muttered something along the lines of an affirmative answer. A half an hour later, Remus and Sirius stumbled into the common room. Without a word, Sirius nudged Peter out of the seat next to James. Because all the other seats were taken, Peter was forced to sit on the floor next to Remus, who also looked tired and beaten.

"Took you long enough," James exclaimed, "Did you clean every room in the castle?"

"Seemed like it. Remus got off easy."

"I don't know about that," Remus answered quickly.

"All you had to do was write an essay!" Sirius scoffed.

"You're kidding," James responded, "An essay?"

"She kept making me rewrite it," Remus explained and James noticed that he was careful not to look any of them in the eye.

"An essay on what?" Peter asked glad to join in any conversation that could distract him from his homework.

"Werewolves," Sirius responded for Remus, "_I _on the other hand had to clean a mountain of crusted jars that Adair retrieved from a closet that probably hasn't been opened since Salazar Slytherin was here. Who knows what was in those jars…" After a moment of contemplation Sirius added, "Why did she keep making you rewrite it, Remus?"

"I didn't make the werewolves seem blood thirsty enough." There was an odd expression on Remus's face.

"And that's hard to do?" Peter looked skeptical.

Sirius yawned, "Why would that matter anyway?"

"I don't know," Remus said shortly his gaze now even with Sirius's, "Ask Professor Adair."

Thwarting a retaliating remark from Sirius, James proclaimed, "I think you both got off easy. An essay? Cleaning some jars? It doesn't make sense. You all saw how livid Adair was in class, yet she went soft on both of you."

Sirius shrugged, "Maybe her bark is worse than her bite."

"Do you at least have detention tomorrow?" James pressed.

"No…well she didn't mention it if we did." Remus turned to Sirius for conformation.

"She didn't mention it to me either."

Though he didn't further express his concern to his friends, James still felt uneasy after hearing their detentions. Adair had only days ago hit James for speaking out of turn. Usually teachers only docked points for that offense and if it occurred repeatedly, a detention might be assigned. Remus and Sirius had cheated, which was a lot worse than speaking out of turn. Plus Adair _enjoyed _punishing her students, James was sure of it. It would be awhile before he could forget that intent gleeful glint in Adair's eyes.

With some persuasion, Peter convinced Remus to help him with his homework and they both left for the library. As usual Peter promised he would keep on top of it after this, but they all knew he would not. Peter was becoming famous for his procrastination and he had become very talented in persuading his friends to help him. Remus told them he had to look something up in the library anyway…or so he said.

By then the common room was getting crowded, so James asked Sirius if he wanted to take a walk outside before it became too dark. They stopped when they reached the edge of the lake and James picked up a rock to skid across the lake.

"Remember last year when we were looking for the Stone?"

There was a long silence – the waves of water lapped softly along the bank.

"I remember," Sirius answered his body tensing slightly. James squinted at something in the distance. _Was it the legendary Giant Squid_? Their escapade into the Forbidden Forest last year in search for the Stone of Het Lot was rarely talked about. They had only discussed it once after and it had somehow become a taboo subject. None of them ever mentioned it or referenced to it, but over the summer James had dreamed about it again. He never remembered any of the dreams, only remembering they had something to do with the Stone. And now the water droplets in the grass, the smell of the air, and the way the sun's rays were peaking through a mixture of clouds and trees; all this was bringing him back to that day. The Stone had originally called out to him and maybe that was why he was still sensitive to its existence.

"Are you regretting being eternally bound to Remus, Peter and I?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

James turned, "No, exactly the opposite. Just think, between your parents plan to make us all distrust you and my cousin's attempt with the letter he wrote to you, what chance did our friendship have in surviving over the summer? A very slim chance and yet here we are."

"And if we hadn't visited the Stone, you think right now I'd be having a nice long chat with Bellatrix instead of you?"

"I don't know…maybe…we'll never know for sure…"

"You must remember, James, the Stone binds people, but I think it is their choice to take it from there. Being bound can mean a slew of things, it could mean being mortal enemies or always running into someone no matter how you try to avoid them…or who knows maybe Peter will become a healer and save your son's life…"

James kicked the sand beneath his feet feeling silly for even mentioning it at all.

"Or…" Sirius said slowly, "Friends for life."

Slowly taking a seat letting Sirius's float away into the darkening sky, James said, "I guess we'll just have to wait a seat."

"Did you have any idea which Slytherin snitched on Remus and you?" James asked breaking the comfortable silence that had enfolded.

"The last person Remus saw before Adair was Snapelous."

"He did seem particularly pleased with himself during class."

"I think he would be regardless…and I'm not exactly popular in Slytherin. It could have been anyone really."

"Snapelous has the most motive and who else would have the gall to be such a tattle tale."

"He is a sniveling coward," Sirius admitted standing up a moment and proceeded to skid a rock farther than either of them had, "_Ha _beat that!"

Glad to take up the challenge, James was disappointed to see that his next rock hadn't skidded very far, "Sniveling Snapelous…say that five times fast!"

"Snivellus!" Sirius rolled the name around with his tongue, "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? We need to have a chat with him though."

James didn't really feel there was a need to actually talk with Snape. A well placed hex could easily do all the talking for them. Snape needed a quick lesson in the unspoken Hogwarts rules of conduct. Snitching on fellow students, your enemies especially, being one of the top things to avoid doing at all costs. Getting at them with a teacher was low and cowardly, though James could hardly expect anything less from a Slytherin. It would be a waste of time to approach Snape, there was no way he would admit it to them anyway.

"Does Remus believe it was Snape?"

If Remus believed it was Snape that was all the conformation James needed.

"He was very evasive. You know he doesn't like to stir up trouble."

Sirius sat back down again tracking an _S _with his finger into the sandy gravel, "If you are really itching to get back at him, I know a way…well I know something about Snape…"

"Spill it already," James said impatiently.

"He's a half-blood."

"What-?" His head snapped up.

"Snivellus is a half-blood. The Prince's daughter, who happens to be his mother, married a Muggle."

James searched for something to say. His muscles tensed in response to his uneasiness. As if nature were responding to his thoughts, the wind picked up suddenly and violently. The waves from the lake crashed loudly at their feet, but James barely noticed that his feet were becoming wet.

It was a subject James wished they could avoid. A subject best left for the adults to handle. Though the avoidance of that particular subject was not stopping it from coming up between them. Blood was a subject that had ailed wizards and witches ever since their first integration into the Muggle world.

James was tempted to change the subject. He was worried. Who knew what lies the Black's had fed their heir? Who knew how much of that Sirius believed? If it came up what evidence did James even have to counter the lies Sirius was taught with?

James reminded himself forcefully that the only reason he wasn't agreeing with Sirius was because he had decent parents. His parents had told him to be proud of his pure lineage, but at the same time realize it had shallow importance. It was his choices and decisions that really mattered.

Getting Sirius to understand that blood was meaningless would be the easy part. James was sure that Sirius already realized that. The hard part would be for him to go against everything generations of Black's believed in.

"You see," Sirius continued unaware of the inner argument going inside James's head, "Practically everyone in Slytherin is pureblood…and I know for a fact the Slytherins believe he is one too. If we let it slip…"

"Let it slip?" James had wanted to handle the subject delicately but he could hear the anger in his voice and so could Sirius.

"Is there a problem?" The worst part was Sirius's confusion was genuine.

"Remus is a half-blood," James explained tiredly. He didn't want to discuss this, but at the same time he couldn't leave it at that.

"I'm aware he is…but…but this has nothing to do with him."

"Yes it does! First of all he's our friend! What is he going to think if he finds out we are harassing Snape for being a half-blood!"

"We won't be harassing Snape. The Slytherins will. The Slytherins are the ones who care. He's been lying, pretending to be one of them. Taken into their secret circles, they'll be outraged. His reputation will be ruined."

"And you still claim you don't care that Snape's a half-blood?" James prodded watching Sirius's reaction as much as listening to his words.

Sirius did not answer the question directly, "What's important is I don't care that Remus is a half-blood."

"If you care that Snape's a half-blood, than you also care that Remus is one," James objected coldly. There was no middle ground or second standards with things like that. The only explanation that fit was that it mattered to Sirius whether he was willing to admit it or not.

James could fail to notice the look of outrage on Sirius's face and the betrayal in his cool grey eyes. _Had he gone too far?_ James could only hope in his anger Sirius would sort out what he believed instead of ignoring it all, stowing those ideas in the back of his mind so that he did not have to deal with them. In the end ignoring those feelings and ideas would only backfire.

"If that's true, then why am I friends with Peter and you and most especially Remus?" Sirius spat hotly.

James met Sirius's eyes with a icy gaze and taking a daring plunge, "Well won't that make Mummy and Daddy mad…befriending a blood-traitor, a half-blood, and well I don't know what Peter is, but he's obviously not important enough to make the Black radar."

Sirius was stunned. He opened his mouth to retort angrily, but instead his posture slumped.

"You're right. I _am _angry at my parents."

The words hung in the air.

"Happy, James? I even hate them at times. The worst part is I'm not rebelling for any honorable reason," Sirius paused in attempt to get his breathing under control, "I'll even admit to wanting to make them mad. I hate their rules. I hate all the formalities at home. I hate them for locking me up all summer. I hate their disappointment most of all. But that was never the reason I became friends with you and that includes half-blood Lupin and Peter. You best _never_ suggest something like that again!"

James exclaimed with exasperation, "Then why can't you see that telling everyone about Snape's parentage is the same or worse than actually doing the harassment yourself. How could we ever condemn the Slytherin's for not treating everyone equally when at the same time giving them ammunition to do that very thing?"

Sirius shook his head, but James continued needing to make his point.

"It's the same thing when the Gryffindors, when I treated you differently because you were a Black. You didn't get sorted into Slytherin and that should have been enough for everyone. It was completely unfair to you. The importance of family name is the same as the importance of blood, completely worthless when judging someone."

"I never lied about being a Black…"

"Let him lie. Let Snivellus pretend what he wants. What do you care what those stuck-up purebloods think?"

"How can I not care? Bella is my cousin! I'm sick of hearing her praising Snape, if only she knew…"

James was finally beginning to understand. Sirius didn't really care about blood one way or the other. Though he wasn't siding with the purists claiming only purebloods were superior, he wasn't on the other side rallying for equal opportunity for everyone.

Sirius cared about what his family thought of him and that was still preventing him from embracing the complete truth. Each small step Sirius made was easily counteracted by a glare across the hall by his cousin, a letter from his father or a surprise visit from his mother.

Feeling he may have been harsher than necessary given the circumstances James said quietly, "Look if you still want to tell the Slytherins about Snape, I won't stop you. I won't be a part of it, but I won't stop you."

"You've taken all the fun of it now."

James shrugged his shoulders in apology, but Sirius jumped in, "But I needed that. Who else would tell me I was out of line?"

In an attempt to lighten the mood, James said, "Now if you happened to know if Snivellus still sucks his thumb that would be worthy enough to spread…"

Sirius laughed and the tension dissipated. The sun was setting – the light of dusk descending upon the two boys standing along the lake's bank. The wind ruffled their hair and James didn't need any magical red and gold light coming from any magical Stone of Fate to feel the comradery between them. They settled into a comfortable conversation about classes, Quidditch and pranks.

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The next morning after a breakfast fit for the royal family, Sirius convinced Remus and Peter to accompany James on a jaunt around the castle. Feigning he was tired, Sirius headed in the opposite direction of his friends. The conversation he had with James last night was still fresh in his mind. Sirius needed silence and time to wallow. Neither would be possible with James around with his infectious nervous energy. In a few hours James would learn if he had made the Quidditch team.

His mind swirled around thoughts about blood, family, and responsibility. His train of thought wandered to his first Muggle interaction. He was about seven or eight and visiting a distant relative who lived in a Muggle neighborhood, which was one of the many reasons, his parents disapproved of this relative.

Down the street from where Sirius and Regulus were playing, two girls were throwing a red ball back and forth between them. Sirius watched them with a pang of loneliness. Playing only with Regulus could get boring easily and he wished he could join them. Regulus was never much fun in the days still ruled by make-believe games. His brother didn't have a great imagination. He took things as face value seeing a makeshift fort for what it was – a pile of cardboard boxes.

His brother was never curious about Muggles either. Sirius wondered many things about them such as what they looked liked and what they ate. Not that Sirius at the time knew these girls were Muggles. Sirius had never actually seen a Muggle so he was forced to use his imagination in that department. He imagined them to be human-like but with hideous deformations, horns coming out of their heads, yellow rotting teeth, and claws instead of fingernails.

Once he had bravely asked his mother how you could tell if a stranger was a Muggle or a wizard. She had looked so severely annoyed at the question that Sirius almost backed down on getting an answer. So only after pestering her, she told him dismissively that it would be obvious and he would just _know_. _Simple as that._ As if Sirius had been born with an inner Muggle sensor that would go off when a Muggle neared.

One of the girls approached them asking if they would like to join in. Regulus balked and backed away; he was very shy in those days. The girls weren't wearing robes, but they wore dresses and Sirius had seen his cousins wearing similar garments. The girls giggled at Regulus who watched from the sidewalk gaping openly. Sirius laughed along bragging that he had hit his brother with a Confundus charm (even though Sirius obviously hadn't). This caused the girls to laugh even more and then proceeded to tell him in whispers they also had a secret language with secret words. Sirius wasn't to sure what they were talking about since Confundus charms did exist, but he was too happy to be with other children to worry about that any further.

Later that night when their father had asked them about their day's activities, something they did every night to practice speaking in a formal manner, Regulus had spilled about the girls

"You _forgot_ to ask their surname?" his father demanded, "Do you ever listen to a word I say?"

"Sorry, sir. They lived in the neighborhood…"

"A Muggle neighbor!" his father was outraged, "Were they muggles?"

Concealing the horror he was feeling inside, Sirius realized with trepidation that they had been Muggles. It explained why they hadn't known what a Confundus charm was. "I don't know, sir."

This answer wasn't much better than an affirmative one, but hopefully his parents would be a little less harsh with the punishment that was sure to follow. He was sent to his room that night without supper with only Kreacher to watch over him. At the time Sirius couldn't imagine anything any worse than having the evil creature watching him getting ready for bed.

After that Sirius was careful to only speak to children his parents had properly introduced him to. Well he had followed that rule until he had arrived at Hogwarts. One important thing had never left his mind, he had been _very_ wrong about Muggles.

Lost in thought, Sirius forgot that he was walking alone and exposed at Hogwarts where a quarter of the population would want to curse him on sight. He paid for his inattention. Turning into a dim hallway, he was disarmed before he realized he was no longer alone. He stopped in his tracks, senses alert.

It was Bellatrix. She walked toward him and around scrutinizing every inch. Though he couldn't see into the darkened shadows encompassing the hallway, Sirius knew she had brought her followers along. And unable to see who they were, where they were, and how many put him in a grave disadvantage.

"You look well," she mused still looking him over, "Doesn't look like you are losing any sleep over betraying the family."

"Amazing the difference three meals a day makes," he quipped dryly.

Bella chuckled and gave him a look you would give a misbehaving toddler. His defiance amused her.

"How is Potter?"

Sirius was startled by the mention of James.

"I suggest you warn him to watch his back. I'd say after you he's the least liked student at Hogwarts – if you ask any Slytherin that is." This was something James would be proud of Sirius thought wryly.

"I suppose you have a message for me?" Sirius wanted the conversation to be over as quickly as possible.

"No message I'm afraid. I'm here because we are blood. And at the end of the day, that's all that really matters. I hear you had a run-in with Professor Adair."

"News sure travels fast."

"Only some news," Bella reported lazily, "So you haven't tired of being disobedient? The stench of mudbloods hasn't driven you crazy yet?"

"I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself. I don't want to hear them."

"Oh, wow," Bella laughed looking surprised but not concerned.

"Blood doesn't matter." Sirius was vaguely aware of how much he sounded like Potter. Maybe the lad was finally rubbing off on him.

"Lies those less worthy spin," she said swatting Sirius's words away as if they were an annoying insect.

"Or lies you spin to convince others of their worthlessness."

"My, my, I see Potter has been busy! Such cunning for a Gryffindor. Imagine what a trophy that would be for Potter's side, tricking the heir of Black into joining the so-called light."

"We aren't at war, Bella. And don't waste your breath on me."

"There's always a battle over blood. He's been trying to make you feel bad, hasn't he Sirius? Make you think you are a horrible person for believing the simple truth that purebloods are superior."

How did she know that? And how did she know how doubtful he was about it? Bella was hooking herself into his doubt securely and slowly but steadily bringing him back to the side of the Black family. The side he was starting to wonder if he wanted any part in. It wasn't that simple of course. Nothing like that ever was.

When it came to the Black's, family was all that mattered. Keeping it pure and keeping it in the family. Stand by your blood through everything: marriage, death, thievery, adultery, and murder. Protect your blood above all, even yourself. Cut your ties with your family and you were nothing.

The fact that Bellatrix looked so satisfied meant she had accomplished whatever she had meant to do. "Nice chatting with you, but I'm afraid we have to cut our visit short."

"What about my wand?" Sirius hated how childish the question sounded

Bella turned smugly and as if she had been waiting for this question. "You mean the wand you parents bought you? Money that the Blacks acquired through means you wouldn't approve of? This wand is property of the Blacks! You want to turn your back on the family; well we are perfectly capable of turning our backs right back at you. I'm confiscating your wand."

Sirius stared at her in disbelief, but she was perfectly serious. "I need my wand for classes."

"You can have it back Monday morning during breakfast in the Great Hall. Actually…" She beckoned someone in the shadows. "I'm going to entrust your wand to Severus. You can pick it up from him tomorrow morning."

Snape was now visible walking towards them a sneer already in place. This was a typical example of Slytherin's hierarchy of powers. Snape had secured a spot in Bella's group of supporters, a terrible mistake on his part. Snivellus had interfered enough with his life and the fact that he was getting cozy with Sirius's family only gave him more reason to loathe the oddball.

Sirius watched with undisguised disgust as Snape entwined his pale, dirty, bitten-to the nail fingers around his wand. Sirius only barely stopped himself from tackling Snape in the hallway. There wasn't any need though because Bella already had ensured she had the upper hand. Sirius tried to take a step forward before realizing someone else had frozen him to the spot. Bella moved closer to him. Since she was several inches taller than him she had to bend slightly so their eyes were level.

"You've been a bad boy, Sirius," she said condescendingly and Sirius tried to lunge at her but the spell still held. So instead of being able to burst with anger he was forced to internalize the anger. He was forced to swallow the humiliation. He felt his body tremble as he held back the words that would only cause him more trouble.

"Come, Snape," she snapped, "Lestrange!"

Lestrange must have been the one to freeze him. He was one of Bella's many admirers and one of the few that might just be pure and powerful enough to create a pact with the Blacks. As the three Slytherins rounded the corner, the spell was lifted. Sirius tried to restore his balance, but he was unsuccessful and ended up falling to the ground.

As Sirius picked himself up he kicked the nearest thing in frustration. All he could do at the moment he was fume about the injustices of life. Bella didn't have to warn him about not telling another person, he'd be too embarrassed to tell any of his friends.

With nothing else to do and not eager to run into any other Slytherins today, Sirius headed back to the Gryffindor Tower.

The common room was much livelier than it should have been on a Sunday afternoon and Sirius quickly saw the source: the bulletin board was now displaying the new Gryffindor team. He'd barely stepped into the room when James was by his side and by the expression on his face he knew immediately that James had made the team. Sirius was quickly informed that Darien Robertson, the boy who by chance had been James's partner during tryouts, had gotten the other stop. Andrianna Wood had not, but she had made reserve, which generally meant eventually she'd have a spot on the team.

James did not appear to notice that Sirius was in a strange mood. Sirius was saved from pretending to be excited as James when Robert McCoy called him over to where he, Darien and Camille Heron, the Gryffindor seeker sat. James looked at Sirius apologetically, but Sirius said "Go ahead. We'll celebrate tonight. Kitchen raid."

James agreed readily, "Kitchen raid it is."

Though there were many calls of congratulations as James picked his way across the room toward Robert, no one could fail to notice the sullen looks and glares of the 13 players whose names were not on the team charter. As Sirius walked up to the dorm and flopped down in his bed, he was hit with a strange feeling of detachment from the world. He began thinking of ways to retrieve his wand as soon as possible.

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Sirius was starting to loathe being anywhere near the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. A class he had always thought would be his favorite was quickly turning to be his least. Today he was feeling particularly anxious about going to class, even though there wasn't any reason he could figure out. They had all done their homework and they had arrived to class with a solid 5 minutes to spare.

The source of his anxiety could be related to the fact that he was still wandless. Sirius had been unable to face the humiliation of approaching Snape with everyone in the school present. There was no way Snivellus would have just let him have the want without infliction some sort of public embarrassment.

Sirius took a seat next to Remus; James beside Sirius and Peter beside James. Every since they had survived Adair together, Sirius had felt a stronger kinship with Remus, who he noticed was beginning to look sickly again. Those symptoms mysteriously appeared right before he was hauled off to a visit with this sick mother.

Lily and Andrianna entered together discussing the likelihood of going through Professor Adair's class without Gryffindor losing points. Lily taking a seat only a few spaces from them predicted, "Not with Potter and Black!" She looked over at them as if it was their idea of a lark to anger Adair.

"Good morning class," sang out Professor Adair as she entered the class looking more cheerful than they had ever seen her before.

"Good morning, Professor Adair," the class chanted back already used to the custom. Besides Sirius, only James did not move his lips. James was eyeing the teacher with the same degree of suspicion that Sirius felt.

"Is there anything better than a chilly fall morning? It clears the senses and frees ones mind. I'm sure everyone of you had a much more relaxing weekend than I had. Not only did I have a stack of papers to correct, that only a few of you managed to answer anywhere near coherently, but I had the punishment of two of your fellow classmates to consider," she stopped as if to think for a moment, "I'm sure we are all in agreement that the crime should fit the punishment and one day of detention would hardly deter cheaters from doing it again."

The class had grown completely silent. Their eyes were either on Adair or where Sirius and Remus were sitting.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin please join me in the front of the room. Now is not the time to be shy," she coxed. The tone of her voice was completely opposite of the meaning of her words, which was making Sirius more nervous. Remus was rooted to his seat and only managed to stand when Sirius was halfway to the front of the classroom. He could feel Remus's fear. He could feel the class's fear. It was a mark how wrong the tides had turned when even the Slytherins held their smirks and smiles.

"My choice of punishment: corporal. So that everyone is clear physical punishment will be used at my discretion. And may be used for any misdemeanor, if I feel that is the necessary way to punish the student who committed the crime."

Adair had now taking out a ruler that though looked like an ordinary piece of wood, Sirius wondered if Adair had thought to tamper with it, by making it hit harder than it should.

Adair approached Sirius, tapping the ruler on her hand in a menacing gesture. Sirius fixed his gaze directly at her in silent defiance. He would not show fear; it would only let her win twice. Softly but clearly Adair began to speak, "Do you remember the feeling you had Mr. Black when you thought you had gotten away with copying Mr. Lupin's homework? That wonderful exhilarating feeling of tricking the teacher? Or the smug satisfaction of a cheeky comeback? Next time you have either of those feelings, I hope you remember this moment. I hope you remember everyone's eyes upon you, all your classmates, housemates, and close friends," Adair continued in a softer voice so that only Sirius and perhaps Remus could hear. She breathed in deeply through her nose, "Can you smell it, Mr. Black, the distinctive scent of public mortification? Can you taste the Mr. Lupin's fear beside you? Can you feel the blood rushing to your face? Can you hear your stomach turning in knots?"

Adair cleared her throat and began to speak again in a normal tone. It didn't matter though because Sirius was already thoroughly humiliated and he hadn't even been struck yet. He tried to gather enough anger to counter the heat spreading through his body, to stop the tremble in his legs, and the tightness in his throat.

"Let's get on with it, Mr. Black," she chided acting as if he had been the cause of the delay, "You can go first. Palms out and hands out stretched. Five strokes for the cheating and another five for the unnecessary cheek afterwards."

Adair was very forceful with the ruler and she left enough time between each hit so that Sirius would feel each one individually. The room stayed silent. Some students diverted their eyes and others watched in horrid fascination. For once it felt as if the Gryffindors and Slytherins were on the same side. Students united against a draconian teacher. Anyone of them at any time could be in Sirius's place and subjected to Adair's mercy.

"You can apologize to the class, Mr. Black, for taking up their learning time."

It took Sirius several seconds before his dry mouth would form any words and once he could talk there was still a distinct tremble to his words. While Sirius attempted to piece back his broken confidence, it was Remus's turn. He was only hit with five strokes, but the fact that she hit him with the same force as Sirius was a surprise. Perhaps she had a personal vendetta against Remus as well. Remus held up well though, he flinched but his eyes stayed determined and tear-free. In some ways it was almost harder to watch Remus being hit. Not wanting to embarrass Remus any further though their close proximity made that hard, Sirius kept his eyes on his hands still red and tender with ruler marks. After Remus apologized to the class, Sirius figured the Professor was done with them for the day.

Merlin was he wrong.

She went straight into teaching not allowing either of them to sit down. Though Sirius was sure the class would have liked to forget about the entire ordeal, they were forced to keep thinking about it with them both still standing. Professor Adair began speaking to them about spells used for protection, though Sirius couldn't follow a word she was saying. He still felt dizzy and out of place.

"Mr. Black!" Professor Adair barked and he turned unwillingly to face her cruel smile, "Did you hear me?"

"Sorry – no – ma'am," he stuttered. Out of the corner of his eye Snape and the boy sitting next to him were starting to smirk.

"Get your wand out! I am going to demonstrate a well known way to disarm your opponent."

Sirius gaped at her. _His wand?_ The wand Snape still had in his possession? Adair rarely had them actually use their wands and of all classes Sirius had assumed he'd get away without a wand in this one. Now everyone was staring at him; Remus nudged him slightly to get him to respond.

"I don't have my wand, Professor." He knew his response was as good as a death sentence, but what choice did he have. Declare to the class that Snivellus had gotten the best of him?

"Don't have it?" For the moment Adair was too surprised to be enraged.

"I left it in my room." He refused to look anyone else in the eye besides Adair. He didn't want to see the pity looks from the Gryffindor side anymore than he wanted to see the smirks from the Slytherin side.

"You are unprepared for this class two times in a row. Sit down, Mr. Lupin."

Remus cringed returning to his seat hastily. Would Adair strike him again? Sirius's hands were still sore and the episode still very fresh on his mind and senses, "Outside the classroom, Mr. Black. I will deal with you in a moment."

Sirius frowned, but followed her instructions. The sound of the classroom door banging closed was foreboding. Sirius paced the hallway for a few seconds and then ended up leaning against the wall arms folded which was how he was when Adair came outside.

"Stand up straight!" she shouted sounding identical to his mother, "You are testing my patience. And I was never revered from that characteristic. If I had it my way I'd beat you until you lost consciousness, but your benevolent Headmaster would surely step in. And I don't want to give them any reason to decide the change the rules about physical punishment. But since you cannot participate in class, I am forced to make other arrangements. You will spend the remainder of class in McGonagall's office writing _I will not forget m wand _over and over. You will come straight to my office afterwards and if you have not written it enough times to satisfy me there will be dire consequences."

Sirius nodded his understanding and Adair had him enter the classroom again while she wrote a note to McGonagall. Not trusting him to deliver it on his own, she asked for a volunteer. Though James's hand shot up instantly, she gave the job to Lily Evans. At least Adair had the sense not to pick a Slytherin.

Lily almost had to run to keep up with his angry long strides.

"Sirius!" she pleaded after him, but he didn't bother to figure out if her tone was filled with concern or condescension.

"I don't want to hear it Evans! If you do not stay quiet I will not be responsible for my actions!"

The curtness in his voice did the trick because though she kept looking at him she remained silent. What he could really do to her without a wand was questionable.

McGonagall greeted him with exasperation and thankfully ushered Evans away before getting into lecture mode. She set him at once to the task of lines agreeing with this mode of punishment, though if she noticed the red marks on his hands Sirius wasn't sure.

"I am going to give you the benefit of doubt that you did not leave your wand in your room for the purpose of further antagonizing Professor Adair." Sirius looked up at her with a benign expression given her neither reason to believe or disbelieve her statement.

She continued, "So I will write a letter to her saying I have watched you over the entire duration of class and that you have worked diligently on your lines."

"Thank you, Professor," Sirius responded dully. The sound of the bell was welcoming and gathering all his things and he headed straight to Adair's office. If he dawdled at all Adair would surely only punish him further. He bumped into James, Remus and Peter though flew by them silencing them with a look. His friends shrugged and followed his semi-frantic pace.

Adair's doorway was open and inside Snape was showing the Professor something in the assigned textbook.

"Come in, Mr. Black," Adair commanded upon seeing him. Not wanting to be in the office any longer than he needed and since it looked as if Snape was not in any hurry to leave, he thrust the papers he had written along with McGonagall's note at the teacher. Adair shuffled through the pages muttering spells to ensure he had been the one to write them without using any magic for help.

"So this is the best you can do?" Adair asked him resting her eyes on his hands.

"Professor McGonagall thought it was enough," Sirius answered tartly. Snape took this moment to leave quietly.

"I'll make my own judgments." Sirius watched as she ripped apart the note and lit it on fire.

"Perhaps a few more strokes will make those fingers quicker…" Professor Adair was already reaching for her ruler when an unlikely person saved him.

"Good morning, Professor Adair. I just wanted to make sure everything was in order. I noticed an awful large group of second years hanging around your office," Slughorn's jovial voice reverberated in the large office, "Ah, Mr. Black just the boy I was looking for. Mind if I steal him away?"

Adair looked torn, but with a strange smile said graciously, "I was just about to dismiss, Mr. Black."

"Excellent. Excellent."

"You can consider your punishment complete," Adair added with finality.

"Boys these days. They'll test your patience, eh? Don't let them get you down."

Slughorn placed his hands on Sirius's shoulders and steered him out of the office to meet not only James, Remus and Peter, but all the second year Gryffindor girls. Sirius allowed Slughorn to continue to lead him away from them

"So tell me young man what did you do to incite the furry of Professor Adair?" There was an unmistakable twinkle in his eye as if they were friends having a good gossip.

"Forgot my wand, sir."

"Ah well happens to the best of us. Did she have you do lines?"

"Something like that, sir."

"I'm having a party, tomorrow evening at 7:30 in my office. It would be excellent if you were in attendance."

"I will see, sir," Sirius said unsure at the gesture.

"You may bring Mr. Potter if you like. Well I need to get ready for my next class."

Watching Slughorn leave, Sirius saw he was far enough from his friends to make an escape. He quickly turned the corner. Still fuming from a mixture of anger, humiliation and relief, Sirius sped his pace in the direction he had seen Snape go – toward the Slytherin common room. In his state it probably wasn't the smartest thing to go looking for a fight with Snape. But Sirius didn't feel like listening to his conscience.

"Snape," he called out once the boy was in sight choosing not to use one of the two nicknames.

Snape turned around surveying him with disinterest and delicately said, "Black, what can I do for you today?

"You know why I'm here." Sirius was going to get his wand back and he was ready to use physical force if necessary.

With ease and confidence Sirius had never seen Severus display, he pointed his own wand toward Sirius, "I'm afraid you aren't in any position to make requests."

"Give it to me and I will deal with Bellatrix."

Snape laughed, "I'm not afraid of your cousin." And Sirius felt his face flush once again. How had his life gotten so out of control again? He was sick of being belittled and embarrassed. He was sick of it all. He took two threatening steps toward Snape. If he could just get his hands around the boy's throat…

"Don't come any closer!" The statement was a command and it was clear Snape didn't see him as a threat. Sirius ignored him taking another step when he heard Snape cast a spell that caused Sirius to be suddenly on his knees with a terrible hacking cough. He couldn't stop coughing and he couldn't catch his breath. The curse was lifted and as Sirius tried to breathe normally Snape hissed, "You failed to follow the instructions of your better. If you behave you can have your wand back tonight during dinner. Oh and be prepared to beg for it."

In response Sirius lunged at Snape in surprise, but he wasn't close enough and he was answered with another bought of coughing..

"I suggest you do what he says, Snivellus!" Sirius turned his head in confusion to see his friends all with their wands out and angry looks. Remus helped Sirius up asking him anxiously if he was alright. Brushing himself off, Sirius assured him with annoyance that he was fine. _Except for the fact he had no dignity left to speak of._

"You are outnumbered Snape. Give Sirius his wand back and we can all leave unharmed."

Down the hall a tall boy with light brown hair was approaching them, "What is going on here?" A shiny Head boy badge adorned the Slytherin's robes, "Lower your wands everyone! Now!"

Snape lowered his first and Sirius's friends followed reluctantly.

"Your housemate has Sirius's wand," James began, "We were only trying to get it back."

"Is that correct Snape?" the Head boy turned to the boy impatiently.

"I'm only following Bellatrix's orders. Sirius Black is her cousin. This is a family matter, Colfer."

"Yes, we all know how Bella believes she runs the school. Give me Black's wand and then get out of here," Colfer instructed Snape. Snape looked incredulous, but he placed Sirius's wand into the older boy's outstretched hand. With one last glowering look, he turned away.

He now turned to the Gryffindors, "You shouldn't be down here so close to the Slytherin Common Room. People are going to start to suspect you are looking for trouble. Here's your wand, Black, might I suggest you keep better an eye on it."

As Sirius was reunited with his wand, he noted all his friend's reactions. James was staring at Colfer reproachfully. Peter was fidgeting with the two books he was carrying and Remus looked torn between glaring at the Head boy out of loyalty to them and giving the Slytherin the respect his position of power warranted.

Then unexpectedly Colfer ripped out a piece of paper out of his notebook, "Can I have all your names?"

"We didn't do anything wrong!" James cried out indignantly, "Snape was the one who stole Sirius's wand! Snape was the only one who actually used his wand."

Colfer irritated, stated, "As you all know I have every right to put you in detention. If I hadn't stepped in there would have been spells flying all over the place. No magic is allowed in the hallways and as second years you have no excuse for letting that rule slip your mind. Since nothing did happen I am only going to give Professor McGonagall your names and request no further punishment be dealt."

Colfer was correct. As Head boy he could place them all in detention for as many days as he wanted. Though he could only put in a written or verbal request to their Head of House if he felt point deduction was needed.

Peter caved first, so they all grudgingly gave Colfer their names. In retrospect, they were rather lucky that this Slytherin cared more about fairness than rivalry.

As they walked up the stairs toward their next class, James turned to him and inquired, "Well?"

"Well what?" Sirius responded.

"Don't give me that! First you show up to Adair's class without your wand saying you _forgot _it, then you disappear with Slughorn and we find you begging Snape for your wand."

Sirius turned to Remus who he hoped would tell James to mind his own business. Remus just shrugged looking at him keenly wanting an answer as much as James. So Sirius started from the beginning when Bellatrix had surprised him. He kept out one very important fact, even when James demanded why Sirius hadn't thought to ask his friends for help. The main reason he hadn't gone to them for help was because he was worried for their safety. Now his friends would be on Bellatrix's retaliation list as well and that only complicated matters.

**A/N: Thanks for READING and please REVIEW! All those reviewers that did not sign their review, your response to what you wrote is in my profile.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Well this chapter is long overdue…I can blame in on a combination of not having time, then my computer needed to be fixed, and then there were problems with the internet connection at my house (thankfully that was fixed). Though not too much happens in this chapter (it's a filler chapter), a lot of the things mentioned will prove important in later chapters. **

* * *

It was history in the making; a prank to be remembered for years. The plan wasn't particularly brilliant nor was it executed flawlessly – yet for one reason or another it was this prank, not the ones they pulled before and not the ones they pulled soon after that had cemented into the minds of the student body, the four of them as mischief makers. 

At that precise moment James was concealed under his invisibility cloak waiting for the verbal signal.

"Quidditch!" Sirius Black rounded the corner at a near sprint and it sounded as if a herd of angry Hippogriffs were after him. In actuality it was a herd of angry Slytherins and as they ran past, James flattened himself against the wall to ensure no one ran into him by accident. James had counted about 10 Slytherins, a bit more than they had planned for.

He was curious about how Sirius had managed to enrage them enough to get them to chase him. Slytherin students didn't typically engage in such undignified behavior. James was pleased to see Snivellous, Bellatrix, and Lestrange brothers, Rodolphus and Rabastan in the group. In James's mind this wasn't a random prank as he had let Sirius, Peter and Remus to believe. This was revenge for all the heartache that House had caused him.

Recently Bellatrix had been enacting her own revenge against James when Sirius wasn't around. He had kept this quiet because he knew Sirius would blame himself if James ever told him.

It turned out that the only time James and Sirius weren't together was when James had Quidditch practice. Just the other day James had been throwing a quaffle around with Robert and Darien to get the feel of each other in the open patch behind the pitch. Bellatix, Lestrange, and two other Slytherins had parked under a tree and began sending a barrage of stinging hexes at James with their wands concealed under their robes.

The spell left no mark and by luck none of the spells hit Robert or Darien, so the only evidence it was at all happening was the fact James kept dropping the quaffle. After this had happened three times in a row, Robert had grown impatient, "What's the matter with you, Potter?"

"It's the Slytherins!" James responded angrily. His anger was not at Robert, but himself for allowing the hexes to affect his performance so visibly.

"Come on, Potter! Just _ignore_ them. If you can't handle them during practice, well their presence will only get worse during the game."

James knew this off course. He had dealt with Slytherin taunts since his first year. It was a side effect of befriending Black and being from a decent pureblood family. He listened to Robert's reprehend silently and forced himself to catch the next three passes even while being hit simultaneously by three hexes.

Now getting back to the task that was at hand, James didn't start following the trial of Slytherins until they had a slight head start. His next part didn't occur until Sirius, the Sltyerins and James passed seven doors and made one left turn. James took aim with his wand at the ceiling and six balloons filled with mud and dirty water from the lake came splashing down. All the Slytherins stopped mid-stride and some of them even cried out. None of the balloons actually hit them. The point of the balloons had been to cause a quick distraction so Sirius could rest a moment.

See in order for the prank to work, they didn't want Sirius to outrun his pursuers and they also didn't want them to catch Sirius. Eventually Sirius was to lead them to a certain corridor where the real prank would occur. James stayed rooted to his spot until the chase started again after Sirius taunted them once more. Something about them being cowards and being stuck-up; it did the trick rather quickly and they soon disappeared down the hallway. Sirius would be on his own for a bit now.

Before heading for his own mission James cleaned up the mess. "Scourfiy!"

It was a handy house cleaning spell his house-elf had taught him during the summer.

Hoping none of this had attracted any unwanted attention, James headed to the same dead-end corridor Sirius was going except taking a quicker, more direct route.

James was also headed to the same dead-end corridor on the third floor Sirius and the Slytherins were, but in a much quicker route. This corridor wasn't always a dead-end corridor only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. This tidbit of information was thanks to Remus taking time to actually read parts of _Hogwarts a History._

The absence of teachers and Prefects in the middle of the day wasn't just pure luck. Peter right now was overseeing Victoria and her friends setting off large quantities of dungbombs all over the school except for the parts where the prank was occurring. This would hopefully keep any unwanted spectators busy. For once Victoria's infatuation with James had proved helpful. Victoria had agreed instantly to help their prank in any way and had even corraled eight other first years to help them as well.

Finally reaching his destination James called out, "Remus?"

"James?" Remus answered hesitantly searching the empty hallway. James laughed before uncloaking himself.

"There you are," Remus grinned and turned immediately serious. Remus was good at that, "Any problems?"

"None. There was nothing to worry about."

"We didn't get away with it yet…"

_Remus was always the optimist._

James rolled his eyes. It always took some time to get Remus to agree to help and then he'd become as excited as them during the planning. Even though Remus tried to hide the excitement of the prank with a worried expression, James wasn't fooled. It was best just to ignore Lupin's insecurities.

James now handed Remus the invisibility cloak and he took Remus's place hiding behind the statue of a large regal looking witch. Now they just had to wait. He watched Remus walk across the hall and then with a salute disappear under the cloak.

They had gotten into position just in time because Sirius arrived, flying down the hall. He ducked behind the statue in one fluid motion giving James a thumbs up. Next, the Slytherins hurled themselves into the hallway, still clearly infuriated and were forced to come to an abrupt stop.

"Where did he go?" Rodulphus Lestrange bellowed loudly.

"He went down here! I saw him go down here!" someone else said.

A few of the Slytherins were trying to hit the walls looking for a secret escape route. Only Snape was eyeing the statue concealing James and Sirius with enough interest to worry James.

It was time.

"Ready?" James mouthed at Sirius and before waiting for a response swished his wand to cause all the candles in the hallway to flicker and go out one by one.

"Sirius is still here. Find him!" Bellatrix instructed.

Winking at James, Sirius pointed his wand at the ceiling and James mirrored his actions. One balloon after another pummeled down on the unsuspecting victims. The balloons like the ones before were filled with murky water, mud and foliage. The Slytherins reacted with a mixture of screams and curses.

It was a sight to be remembered!

Every single one of their advisories was soaked and covered with a mixture of grass and leaves. It was now time for Remus to unleash the smoke beans. The smoke beans weren't even on the market yet, but Peter's father worked in a Wizard toy factory and was able to get things before they were released.

Upon contact with the air, they had been held in sealed bag, they emitted a smoky fog engulfing everything in the room. It was thick enough to disorient the Slytherins who had gotten the worst of it being in the center of the room.

James and Sirius quickly slipped out from behind the statue before they too could not see. Remus joined them coughed a little from the smoke, handing over the invisibility cloak to James.

"What was that?" he asked apprehensively.

"What was what?" Sirius feigned innocence as they headed to the Tower.

"Those letters didn't appear on their own," Remus said exasperatedly and when Sirius shrugged, "You know, the glowing red letters that said: _Brought to you by S.J.R.P._ We didn't agree on that."

"I took some artistic liberty," Sirius said vaguely.

"Why don't we just turn ourselves in, save everyone the trouble," Remus said sarcastically.

"No ones going to figure it was us by our first initials. Relax, Remus. Enjoy the moment."

The three boys entered the Common room casually and quickly headed upstairs when no one reacted any differently to their arrival.

"That was brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed unable to contain his excitement any longer, "Pure brilliance!"

"All thanks to me," James answered relishing in the strange lightness he was feeling. He felt as if he was floating on a cloud and nothing could ever go wrong.

"As if you could have pulled it off without us," Sirius scoffed.

Remus allowed himself a smile, "Never expected it, did they?"

A knock sounded on the dorm room door and the unexpected noise silenced them all quickly. Cautiously James stood up and opened it a crack to reveal a pink faced Victoria. He ushered her in and for a few moments she eagerly looked around. It was most likely her first time in a boy's dorm. Victoria turned to inspecting them, "You all look well…seem to have all your fingers and toes."

"How do you know we have all our toes?" Sirius asked with amusement looking down at his shoes.

"I can see through things. Didn't James tell you?" Victoria answered innocently.

"Ha, ha," James laughed dryly, "Where's Peter? Don't tell me he got caught?"

"No, no…he – err- he may have fainted."

"May have?"

"Well he received a direct hit with one of those _super-super _dungbombs. And it happened right in front of McGonagall, which I think saved us because she was starting to suspect we weren't innocent bystanders."

"He probably fainted from fright, he doesn't exactly have a heart of a lion," commented Sirius.

"Some people are just more sensitive to dungbombs," Victoria interjected. It was odd to see her sticking up for Peter.

"What about your alibis?" James pressed.

"All set, Lauren and Lynn were already telling others about your tutoring session with them."

"Excellent. Give them our thanks. We couldn't have done it with all your help."

Victoria beamed and literally skipped out of the room for once quieted by the unexpected complement from her crush. James turned to his friends with a sigh, "She drives me crazy!"

They all erupted into laughter and eagerly began discussing the finer points of the prank.

* * *

Severus Snape was going to kill Bellatrix Lestrange. She had dragged them all directly to Slughorn's office not allowing any of them to clean off first, so that they might look a little presentable. Bellatrix wanted Slughorn to see the full effects of the pranks by the Gryffindor brats. 

He couldn't believe, they, the Slytherins for all their cunning had walked right into a trap! Had anyone else found it a little suspicious to follow Sirius Black after he had insulted them all so crudely? Snape had gone along _only_ because Bellatrix hadn't stopped and he wasn't stupid enough to argue with her.

He didn't like being governed by Bellatrix's whims, but hopefully it would become fruitful. Unlike most of his House, he had neither money nor family name to ride on

Then to add to their humiliation, Bellatrix had chosen some of the mostwidely used hallways to Slughorns office, so they passed many tittering ad laughing groups of Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors in their wake.

Black would pay for this, as well as Potter. Those two had been glued to each other for the past few days, and he wouldn't put it past sickly Remus Lupin and tagalong Peter Pettigrew to be involved. Maybe Slughorn would even decide to have Professor Adair oversee their punishment; Snape relished the thought.

He would be forever grateful to Professor Adair for humiliating Sirius Black so brilliantly. Snape had seen both pain and fear in Black's eyes, usually cool with indifference. He had also enjoyed delivering his own punishment on Black, even if Bellatrix had been the one to instigate it. If Potter and his gang of wayward followers hadn't interfered he could have had Black begging in front of the entire student body. They would pay for that and the latest mischief. He could wait to make them pay though. For now he could feed on enjoyment on just riling Black with casual remark about blood, family, and honor. It really was too easy sometimes and Sirius's temper was as short as Bellatrix's though not as dangerous. With Bellatrix you never knew what she was capable off.

'May I offer a suggestion?" Snape asked delicately.

Looking slightly annoyed, Bellatrix nodded subtly.

"Could we perhaps go to straight to Professor Adair's office instead of Slughorns? We all know she would deal a more severe punishment."

"An interesting idea…" she murmured watching Snape closely.

"We can't!" someone blurted out curtly, "Professor Slughorn is our Head of House."

The girl who had spoken was the newly elected fifth year Prefect. Apparently she wasn't aware that Bellatrix rarely followed any of Hogwarts rules.

"Shame. But there you have it," Bellatrix smiled condescendedly on the girl who had spoken before addressing Snape again, "No one's mind quite works like yours, Severus."

Her tone of voice was so unreadable that Snape was unsure if it was a compliment or a warning to not get too ahead. He was after all a second year and Snape knew he had to be careful to not attract too much attention.

So they ended up in Slughorns, though predictably the visit did not go smoothly, Slughorn was bewildered to find them in his office in such a messy state. After he overcame that, it had taken some time for him to understand their side of the story.

"You said you saw Mr. Black? Sirius Black?"

"He's my cousin," Bellatrix implored irritably; "I know what he looks like."

"You didn't see Mr. Potter though?"

"No, sir," Snape intervened, "But in all likelihood he was involved."

"We can't go accusing an innocent boy! Its things like that that gives our House such a horrible name."

"Potter is anything but innocent," snarled Rodolphus Lestrange.

"We could lie, sir," Bellatrix said sweetly, "Say we saw Potter, just to get him here for questioning."

"No need for that dear girl." As usual telling the truth rarely gets you to where you want.

Bellatrix didn't look pleased, though Snape had a feeling it was more to do with being called _dear girl_ than getting Potter in for questioning.

Now they had all told him exactly what had happened, their Head of House seemed unsure of the next proper step in such a protocol.

In the end under Bella's suggestion, Rabastan Lestrange and Snape were stuck waiting an hour with Slughorn while everyone else was allowed to leave and clean up. By the time Sirius and James sauntered in Snape did not believe it was possible for his mood to get any worse. It was small consolation that Slughorn had managed to get James to come.

"There is no way they can wiggle their way out of this…" Lestrange whispered confidently. The problem was Lestrange greatly underestimated Black and Potter.

As Potter and Black answered Slughorn's questioning, Snape was becoming physically sick from their politeness. James and Sirius weren't this polite with teachers they respected. Even though they were very convincing with their looks of bewilderment at the state of the Slytherin's robes, Snape still believed they would get the punishment they deserved.

And then James had the nerve so say earnestly, "I hope you catch the real culprits, sir." It all went down hill from there.

It was obvious Slughorn didn't want to believe Black and Potter were involved. He ate up their tales and Snape was forced to watch silently as the Gryffindors spun a web of lies. Some rubbish having to do with tutoring first years. He was too disgusted to pay attention to the details.

Lestrange apparently was paying more attention than Snape and as usual was unable to restrain himself, "Tutoring? And you believe them, sir?"

The only problem was, questioning Slughorns sanity would only hurt their case.

"I was doing a family friend a favor," James answered coldly; "The girls are friends with Victoria Dekker. My family has known the Dekkers for ages. Perhaps you know them sir?"

Snape had to acknowledge Potter's quick thinking alluding to his connections was the perfect way to get Slughorn's attention.

"Yes, yes," Slughorn beamed, "Fine family. Very sad when they lost so much of their fortune."

"If needed I'm sure the girls, Lynn and Linda would have no problem being called in."

"No, no…there will be no need for that."

"Black did it! Black taunted us! We chased him!" Lestrange's rage was apparently causing him to talk in short sentences.

"I'll admit to taunting them, sir. What's the harm in a little House rivalry? I can understand their angry, but I'm afraid we aren't your guys. And I most certainly did not engage in a chase."

"A simple case of mistaken identity, eh?" Slughorn rumbled. He looked relieved.

"And it's just a coincidence all your first initials match the message left by whoever were _the brains_ behind the prank: S.J.R.P; Sirius, James, Remus and Peter." Snape spoke softly and confidently. This was the first he had spoken since the Gryffindors had walked in and both Potter's and Black's eyes rested on him cautiously. "A very peculiar coincidence, sir. If you believe in such things."

And Snape did not believe in such things. It had been careless of them to leave such evidence of their involvement.

Sirius coughed, "It still doesn't prove anything. Coincidences happen all the time, if you believe in them or not."

"All right boys, I think its best…yes, yes…it is best if we just forget this incident." Though for the first time that day, Slughorn sounded suspicious, which at least was a slight win on Snape's behalf, "I'll have to tell Professor McGonagall about the _complaint _Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, so do not be surprised if she questions you."

_Complaint? _Was that what that vicious prank had been reduced to? Lestrange flung out of Slughorn's office cursing under his breath. Potter and Black left next, but they were waiting for him outside. He may have been more worried it they weren't still right near Slughorn's office.

Potter was smirking and Black looked triumphant.

"Hello Snivellus!" Sirius said cheerfully. _Perfect, they had thought of a new nickname._

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet. Actually I wouldn't sleep tonight or the next night or the next…Bellatrix is going to be out for blood."

"Does she have you do all her threats for her?" James was twirling his wand.

"It won't be _my _Quidditch career ruined after a skirmish with her."

James stopped twirling his wand to give Snape a good long scathing look.

"And it's not just Black's cousin you have to watch out for. It wasn't exactly smart targeting ten Slytherins that all have a larger knowledge of hexes than you do."

Though they stiffened at his words, they laughed trying to cover up their worry.

"Let's go, Sirius," James said and giving Snape a once over, "Take a bath, Snivellus."

So Snape was left alone at last.

As he walked back to his common room, a wonderful idea took form in his mind. He'd allow Bellatrix and her crew get their revenge, playing as little role as possible. He was sure it would result in a large loss of points and weeks of detention. Bellatrix wasn't known for her subtlety. And while the quartet was nursing their wounds, then he'd strike.

* * *

Peter stared at the piece of toast he was buttering as if it were the most important thing in the world. Sirius sat across from him rifling though the Daily Prophet. Remus had left late yesterday afternoon to visit his sick mother and James was at Quidditch practice. This left only Sirius for company. Peter was comfortable enough with Sirius when the four of them were together, but alone he became edgy around him. Sirius could sometimes be _brutally _honest about things, while Peter preferred to pretend the less finer things in life did not exist. 

A loud boisterous group of fourth years walked past greeting them fondly. This had been happening daily since the prank, which had occurred about three days ago. They had become quite popular. Well mainly James and Sirius. No one was really sure of Remus's and Peter's involvement, but they were usually around when James and Sirius were being congratulated so Peter could easily pretend the praise was directed at him too.

His job had been just as important. His friends should be bloody grateful he had fainted because McGonagall _had_ been suspicious. And even though both Peter and Victoria explained that to them all, he knew they were laughing behind his back and probably calling him a clumsy fool.

But what was the point in harping on his friends faults? He didn't have the guts to confront them. And he needed them. They created a safety net against the bullies and an illusion to the world that he was part of a close-nit group of friends. Peter knew they considered him a friend, but friend was not synonymous with equal in their books.

Sirius threw down the paper sighing, "Do you want to read it?"

"Err- no thanks…" Peter had never enjoyed reading the Daily Prophet. He found it dull and any interesting stories only caused him to panic and worry about things that would never actually happen to him.

The Mail Owls all flew in then and a gentle murmur filled the Great Hall. Peter didn't bother glancing up. His mother only mailed him once a month and he had just received something the other week. So he was surprised to find a large tan owl thrusting a light green envelope in his face. Peter stared at it blankly.

"Do you need help opening it?" Sirius asked looking at Peter disdainfully.

Peter only narrowed his eyes, but obliged his impatient friend.

_Dearest Peter,_

_Congratulations on becoming a big brother. Your little sister was born last night. Her name is Jocelyn Anne Pettigrew. _

_Love,_

_Mum, Dad, and baby Jocelyn._

A picture of a red squirming howling baby fell out of the envelope. Sirius picked it up looking at it curiously. Sirius passed him the picture and Peter stared blankly at it unsure what he should feel and wondering why he wasn't feeling anything.

Two sixth year girls who were sitting in close proximity to them rushed over. "Ohhhh! Who's that?" cooed one of them.

"M-m-my little sister," Peter mumbled. It was weird to lay claim to the little squirming person in the picture.

"She's so cute!" they both squealed and giggled crazily. Their laugh drew attention of a few more girls and though Peter was getting very nervous being near so many females, he was starting to enjoy the bonus attention. None of them were paying an attention to Sirius, who only had a pain-in-the-arse brother.

"Sure, she's cute now," Sirius said dully and looking sourly at the baby picture and the throng of girls around it. And when the prettiest girl of the lot gave Sirius a cold stare and then proceeded to smile genuinely at Peter, "She's precious," Peter decided he'd give his little sister huge thanks the moment he saw her. Feeling much better than he had all week, he put the picture away though he would be sure to keep it handy in case any other girls wanted a peek at it later.

"I'm going to write down all the days Remus has missed and will miss when he disappears," Sirius whispered with an air of importance.

The comment came out nowhere, but had obviously been on Sirius's mind for awhile. "Huh?"

"I'm hoping to find a pattern. Maybe some clue to where he goes."

"You don't know he's lying," Peter said levelly eyeing the paper Sirius had written last night's date on. Sirius and James took Lupin's absences very personally. They acted as if they were in a middle of some elaborate conspiracy.

"Don't I?" Sirius challenged.

"You'll feel quite stupid when it turns out he really does have a sick mother."

"If his mother is sick, he most certainly isn't visiting her."

Peter breathed in quickly gathering a moment of strength, "Dumbledore is allowing Remus to leave the school. The teachers aren't suspicious of his absences. Remus will tell us when he's ready. And some things are best left unknown." The last bit was a spout of wisdom from one of his cynical cousins.

"Oi lads!" James called sitting down next to Sirius and grabbing a piece of toast right off his plate. His robes were all muddy, but he looked happy.

"Hey!" cried Sirius indignantly even though he hadn't touched any of his food for the last fifteen minutes.

"How was practice?" Peter asked.

"Well the Prewett brothers got into a spat. You should have heard McCoy ranting and raving for letting a bludger hit Camille, our seeker."

Gideon and Fabian Prewett were brothers who both had striking red hair, though Gideon's hair color was lighter, while Fabian's was a much darker shade.

"The Prewett's are cousins to me by marriage, but they are on the side of the family we pretend don't exist," Sirius commented after a moment.

James ate heartily and then slyly looked at Sirius as if just remembering something, "Darien's friend, Ally was asking about you. She's a fourth year and she was watching our practice."

"What for?" Sirius asked distractedly and Peter noticed the paper with the dates had vanished.

James rolled his eyes, "I suppose she _likes _you, mate."

Sirius looked up surprised and only vaguely interested, "How about that?"

"She's a fifth year!" Peter exclaimed jealously. It was not possible someone who was fourteen years old would be interested in a twelve year old, even if Sirius was considered handsome.

Peter did notice Sirius eyeing a pretty girl with bouncing blond curls at the end of the table. She noticed Sirius and blushed looking away. Sirius also quickly turned away looking unsure about the situation.

James announced that he had to go back to take a quick shower before classes began.

"I'll join you," Sirius said quickly grabbing his stuff together. Peter would have rather stayed a little longer, but he didn't want to be caught alone in the hallways later. Not when the Slytherins had not acted on their threats just yet.

As James showered, Peter saw Sirius go quietly over to Remus's trunk and begin trifling through it.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked alarmed.

Sirius didn't answer having suddenly found one of Remus's old notebooks from last year. Peter was surprised Remus bothered to keep his old notebooks. Peter had thrown out all his old notes; they had been barely decipherable while he was learning the material. Still not sure of Sirius's purpose in this invasion of privacy, Peter watched him flipping through the notes writing dates on that same paper he had during breakfast.

James returned dressed in his black school robes. His hair, still very wet, looked a bit more tidy than usual. Turning back to Sirius he noticed Remus's notebook was gone and his trunk had been closed as if none of what he had witnessed had happened.

Worried about the situation, Peter blurted out, "Sirius, what was on that paper?" He pointed to the paper still in Sirius's hand. Luckily, Sirius hadn't been quick enough with hiding that. All this secrecy was making him uncomfortable.

Sirius composed his face as James looked at him funny.

"Oh..nothing," Sirius said in a off-handed way, "Some birthdates…"

"That all have to do with Remus," Peter answered hastily.

"Remus?" James asked now taking the paper from Sirius, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked the paper over, "What do these have to do with Remus?"

"It has to do with his disappearances," Sirius declared not looking pleased. How could Sirius berate Remus for keeping secrets when he had been just about to do the same?

"I don't understand…" James said as he handed back the paper to Sirius. Neither did Peter.

"I remembered that Remus used to do that copying spell with your notes, James and put it in his notebook. So I _borrowed _one of his old ones and these are all the dates that he had to visit his mother."

"So you're looking for a pattern, right?" James's voice was filled with excitement and interest.

"Yes," Sirius nodded, "I was going to show it to you guys. I just wanted to mull it over myself for a bit." As he said the last part he looked pointedly at Peter.

"Excellent," James nodded and began pacing the room. Putting their heads together, they began to run ideas about patterns of numbers, days, and the way the sun was positioned. Peter suddenly wished he hadn't interfered with Sirius's secrecy. He found this all boring. It was all nonsense and it was a relief when James and Sirius had to stop because their first class of the day was about to start.

**A/N: Thank you so much for taking the time to read, now please take a few more minutes to review and let me know what you think. Any anonymous reviewers, your responses from last chapter are in my profile. Thanks again to all my readers! Until next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Anything that doesn't belong to me isn't mine**

**A/N: Well at least this chapter didn't take me as long to post as the last one. Though I do want to try to post more regularly…we'll see. Happy Reading!**

James glanced over the cards in his hand to a group of Prefects watching their game very closely. Remus had just taught them a Muggle card game that he had learned from his Muggle-born mother. Remus insisted that their playing cards shouldn't be talking to each other, but all his attempts to silence them had failed. Things like that about Muggles still mystified James; part of the fun of playing with a magical deck of cards was to hear them banter with another or spout random bits of knowledge.

'There are only 12 uses of dragon's blood' his Queen of Hearts told him in a flirtatious voice.

"Prefect," James mouthed in warning when he saw Frank Longbottom approach them. Not that they were doing anything wrong at the moment and as far as Prefects were concerned, Frank was the most likable and agreeable.

"Hello, Longbottom," Remus greeted politely. Frank gave a friendly, but guarded nod.

"I'm afraid this isn't a social call…" The four boys' grins instantly disappeared.

"In what way?" implored James placing his cards facedown.

"It's about the prank pulled on the Slytherins," Frank began uneasily.

"We were cleared of all involvement," James replied indignantly.

"That's right!" Peter added in support.

"It is true that Professor Slughorn cleared you, but I'm not here on behalf of the teachers." Frank stopped for a moment and took a breath. "I'm here on behalf of the Prefects."

"What do _they _want with us?" Sirius asked. His gaze toward Frank suggested he wasn't impressed at all about anything involving Prefects.

"Come on…we all know you were involved. And this is not to get you in trouble. T-this is…well…this is for the good for the school."

"Good of the school?" James echoed. This sounded very similar to a conversation he had with Frederick and Vanessa Dekker, Victoria's older sister. The Prefect and Head girl had grabbed James as had been walking back from Quidditch practice with Gideon Prewett and Darien Robertson. Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled to see, let along speak to either of them. That conversation was also supposed to be for _his own good_.

"Your parents expect me to look after you," his cousin had reasoned. Apparently in Frederick's mind, the mere fact they shared a drop of blood meant he could involve himself in all aspects of James' life.

Vanessa had added her own twisted wisdom. "I'm doing this as a favor for your Grandparents." At least Frederick was sincere in a way. James knew Vanessa disliked him. So it was obvious to him that Vanessa only involved herself only because she knew how much it irked James. Also as a bonus, it would appear to adults that she was looking after family friend's grandson.

"You need to stop hanging around with those boys. They are nothing but trouble. Not the right sort at all," Vanessa proceeded to lecture. Since she was Head Girl, she had more to access to certain things than the average student, such as a copy of his detention record she had in her hand.

"First of all, I am perfectly capable of choosing the right sort of friends," James had angrily insisted. "I can take care of myself. You needn't worry."

"And you've demonstrated your ability in that by associating with Sirius Black? _His _record is worse than yours. That boy's an outcast even in his own kind."

After Sirius had been brought up, James had simply just walked away. He was sick and tired of having to justify being friends with a Black. He still sometimes had to convince himself that he had chosen right in believing in Sirius and that friendship could cross any boundaries. Most importantly, he needed to rectify the problem of Sirius having more detentions than he had!

Was it a coincidence that in the group of Prefects Frank had just left included Frederick? James would bet more than a few galleons that coincidences like that didn't exist. It sounded suspiciously like something his cousin, the perfect Prefect, would insist upon.

James rolled his eyes and turned to Frank. "So the Prefects are worried we'll start targeting other Houses and not just the Slytherins?"

"Something like that. I was against it all. If anything this might give you ideas to start targeting Prefects."

"Only some Prefects," Sirius answered mysteriously.

"You're lucky we like you Frank," James agreed and than scowled in the direction of his cousin, "This talk wasn't Frederick's idea by any chance?"

Frank laughed. "It wasn't only his idea, but he was forcefully for it."

"Did you draw the short straw then?" Remus asked.

"I was – what's the word – volunteered. Let's see, what did they want me to tell you? Oh yes, remind you there is to be no magic in the hallway. Respect all students in all Houses. Oh and my favorite – solve disagreements with words and not spells."

"Right because the Slytherins will politely stand idly while we talk through our feud," Sirius replied pointedly.

"Don't tell anyone, but I know a lot of the Prefects thought the prank was brilliant," Frank winked, "Well I've done my duty. Behave yourselves now..and could you do me a favor and look remorseful as I walk away?"

"Sure," Remus promised.

"And we'll behave ourselves," James began.

"For a few days," finished Sirius.

Frank shook his head trying not to laugh so it appeared he had left them sternly as he returned to his fellow Prefects.

"I won!" Peter cried triumphantly showing his winning hand. And he had indeed beaten them all. James groaned pushing over to Peter the rest of his collection of sweets. Remus and Sirius followed with their piles. Who would have thought that Peter had a knack for strange Muggle card games?

* * *

Defense Against the Dark Arts was by far Snape's favorite class. Admittedly he would have preferred to be studying the Dark Arts themselves, but he wasn't really in a situation to be picky. He was lucky to be at Hogwarts at all; Snape knew his mother had been close to not sending him for magical training at all. One of his roommates, Evan Rosier had explained to him there were schools such as Durmstrang that did teach that sort of thing. Again that fact mattered little in his case. At least in order to defend yourself you needed to understand a certain element and level of Dark Magic and this information was enough for Snape to do his own studying.

Currently Professor Adair was going over a chapter on Dark Creatures, and at the moment was telling the class how to defend themselves against Cornish Pixies. This was a topic Snape didn't find particularly worth his time, so he let his eyes wander around the room.

As usual his eyes immediately went to the Gryffindor side and he felt a slight smile tug at his lips from the memory of last night. Bellatrix accompanied by her usual group had attacked a specific group of down-right annoying Gryffindors. As Snape had predicted, they had gotten caught and lost Slytherin more points than the revenge was worth.

At least they were all still sporting the after effects of the attack: Potter's right hand was still bandaged in white cloth, Lupin's hair was still tinged blue, and you could still make out faint green spots on Pettigrew's arms and face. Only Black appeared unscathed, but Snape knew Sirius had been on the receiving end of some nasty jinxes and hexes.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black!" Adair's tone of annoyance caused every student to sit up a little straighter in their chairs and look brightly eyed as if this was the most fascinating lesson in the world; trying to clearly and deliberately separate themselves of all connection to the boys' names she had just uttered.

Perhaps Potter and Black had death wishes and wanted to upset the teacher. _Well off course, _Snape thought, _they probably thought they were above the rules._

What did they whisper to each other about all the time? Snape only spoke to his companions when it was absolutely necessary.

"Do I need to cast a silencing charm on you two to get you to stop talking in my class?"

Snape eagerly watched how Potter and Black would handle this. He hoped they would dig their whole deeper with a smart remark. He enjoyed seeing the fear in their eyes, smugness wiped off their faces, and cocky grins vanish; a feat only Professor Adair had managed out of all the professors at Hogwarts.

Upsettingly neither boy looked the least bit alarmed. James cleared his throat. "I was only asking Sirius to clear something up for me, Professor. I wasn't sure if you stated that a darker or lighter skinned Cornish Pixie was more dangerous."

Adair narrowed her eyes and placed her hands firmly on her desk A web of words such as that may have saved them in any other classroom from punishment, but not Adair's.

"See me after class." From the finality in her tone, Snape knew she would take no further step in correcting the Gryffindors in class.

"You never answered my question, Professor," James said cheekily just as Adair had turned to the chalk board; right at the moment she would have forgotten about him until class was over.

"Twenty points off Gryffindor," Adair hissed, "And since you were not listening, I suggest you look up the answer in the library. I forbid anyone in this class to tell Mr. Potter the answer."

Adair continued to teaching as if nothing had gone amiss, but Snape's mind had started forming an idea. He turned to Rabastan, who was sharing a table with.

"Lestrange," Snape muttered and added, "After class."

"Today?" Lestrange mouthed his gaze lingering hungrily at the unsuspecting victims. Snape nodded with a grim smile and endured the rest of the lecture by going through the list in his head of all the hexes, jinxes and curses he knew.

When class was over, everyone rushed out except for Lestrange, Snape and the Gryffindor duo. Severus had heard Black tell Lupin not to wait for them and they would meet up with him and Pettigrew in study hall.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Snape?" Professor Adair questioned distractedly.

"You said you would have that book for me, ma'am," Snape answered smoothly. James and Sirius were scowling at him or maybe it was at the Professor. Not that it mattered, Snape was glad how clearly unhappy they looked.

"Ah, yes," Adair paused a moment to stare at James and Sirius causing them both to squirm in their seats, satisfied she continued, "I'll deal with you two when I return."

Snape watched Adair's retreating figure tensely and made sure she was fully through the back entrance of the classroom which everyone assumed connected in some way to her office, before turning back to his targets.

Rabastan had a different strategy and didn't waste a moment from when Adair had opened the back door. In retrospect Snape supposed a surprise attack was the best way.

Lestrange shouted a disarming spell so enthusiastically that not only did it disarm Black, but the spell slammed into Sirius with enough force that he toppled off his chair.

The moment the spell hit Sirius, Potter was on his feet diving for his bag so he could get to his wand. Almost grasping it, James' wand clattered onto the floor in front of him. In a valiant attempt to retrieve it back, James began crawling toward it, but it was useless because Snape was armed and ready. He hit Potter with a Jelly-leg jinx and taking his time he strode forward. Then he deliberately stepped forcefully on Potter's injured hand, causing James to cry out in pain. Snape positioned his wand so that it was pointed directly under Potter's chin.

Snape saw James' eyes widen and his breath increase rapidly. Potter was practically the poster child for Gryffindor and here he was defenseless and scared. Snape wished all the Gryffindor could see him now.

Snape was in complete control and Potter could sense that. He could fire any spell, curse or hex at Potter; the possibilities were only limited by Snape's knowledge. And Potter had no idea what Snape was capable of and with his reputation of knowing more Dark curses then most seventh years, James was in the right to worry.

Was it so wrong for Snape to enjoy the intoxicating power flowing through his very veins? He embraced the feeling. It warmed him, this power over another individual. Magic truly was remarkable.

It was the same feeling he had felt when he had first held a wand and again when he cast his first spell. Severus had gone through the first six years of his life thinking there was no such thing as magic. After overhearing an argument between his mother and father, the secret was out. His mother was a witch and he might be a wizard. That was that.

Besides a few strange occurrences in primary school this new knowledge meant little and life went on normally. Then when he was nine and a half and he began the secret visits to the Prince Manor. It was in this place he was fitted with a wand and where he began learning about the Magic World. His lessons were nothing like at Hogwarts and he was taught it seemed everything but the benign spells first taught to first years. There were lectures about potions that could 'enrich the mind and ensnare the senses'. Endless books about curses that could give you complete control over another human and ones that could cause excruciating pain without leaving a mark.

At home, in his Muggle neighborhood, Snape had little control over his life. He had been forced to watch his father hit his mother and hide from the neighborhood bullies. And he hated doing _that_. He hated anything that questioned his pride.

Then something glorious changed. He was no longer defenseless. You can imagine how upset Snape was when he learned there were strict laws against using magic against muggles. On top of that his mother had promised her that he would never lay a wand on his father, no matter what. It was a ridiculous promise, yet so far he had kept his word.

However, Potter was not a Muggle and even though it wasn't honorable or virtuous to attack a wandless wizard; it wasn't against the law. And Snape wasn't about to give up the chance to release all his pent up anger.

Snape allowed himself to glance quickly at Rabastan to see how he was dealing with Black. It appeared that Lestrange had him in a full body bind and Black was choking on soap bubbles. The latter spell was something that Snape was unfamiliar with. Snape was just thinking about having to ask Lestrange about it later when the room suddenly inverted.

James had ceased the few seconds that Severus had been distracted and rolled his whole body to the right. Since Snape still had his foot on Potter's arm this sudden movement had caused him to loose balance. With reflexes quick enough that even Snape would admit was impressive, James had grabbed his wand, was on his feet, and running toward the door.

James had taken time to push over some desks in his haste to get to the door, but it was a useless action. Potters should have taken the time to send a spell that would immobilize Snape. It was a mistake that would cost the boy because lazily Snape aimed his wand at Potter's feet. James was maybe two strides from the door when he was hit by a trip jinx. The boy came crashing to the floor and –

"A-hem!"

That sound stilled them all and Snape whirled toward the front of the room to see Adair glaring. Snape supposed the room looked incriminating. Forgetting the fact that Potter was sprawled on the ground and Black had soap bubbles coming out of his mouth, there was still the fact there were books, paper, desks and chairs strewn all over the room.

Snape placed his wand discreetly back in his robe pocketing. He knew what he had to say.

"Professor, they attacked us."

Black and Potter immediately began to protest but Adair silenced them with her hand. It didn't matter what the Gryffindors said anyway. What could they really offer in their defense? Feeble words about the Slytherins being the first to attack them? None of that would save them now.

Adair cleared her throat. "Pick yourself up off the floor, Mr. Potter."

James complied hastily, though he stood defiantly with his arms crossed silently daring the teacher to punish him.

"Mr. Lestrange if you could kindly give Mr. Black his wand and step away." Rabastan obliged with a small mock dip in Black's direction.

"Attacking Slytherins, eh? It seems to be a hobby of yours. A hobby that you will find has some nasty consequences."

Potter and Black wore identical expression of anger, though they didn't retort.

"What went on here?" the Professor continued turning to Snape.

Lestrange answered with a greedy grin, "No idea ma'am. We were minding our own business, waiting for your return, when they attacked us from behind, ma'am."

Gryffindors hated nothing more than being questioned about their bravery and in their eyes nothing showed cowardliness like attacking someone from behind.

"If we _attacked _them, than how come James and I were the ones who were disarmed?" Black asked loudly. His face livid and jaw clenched.

"Silence! You will only speak when I ask you to. Perhaps Mr. Snape or Mr. Lestrange could explain that."

"As if you'll get the truth from them…" murmured Potter.

"Did you not hear me the first time, Mr. Potter!" roared Adair. Her patience was at the last tether.

Snape smiled. "It's obliviously because of all the valuable defensive techniques you have taught us, Professor."

Professor Adair accepted this explanation with a nod. "Well that's hardly surprising, since it seems Mr. Black and Mr. Potter hardly find need to pay attention in my class that they you would be so easily able to disarm them. Well done, five points each to Slytherin. As for you Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, you will be serving detention at six o'clock tomorrow night and before you leave you will straighten out this mess. No magic!"

"Yes, Professor," they answered sullenly in unison. Adair stared long and hard at the two of them as if deciding if the boys would act on the mutinous looks they were shooting her. It was highly improbable Potter and Black would disobey a direct order.

Adair then motioned for Lestrange and Snape to get on to where they needed to go. As Snape passed near Potter, he saw a look, a glint in his enemy's eyes. A glint that promised that this wasn't the end of it by far. Snape may have won this particular round, but there was more to come. Snape knew he would always have to be vigilant.

* * *

Sirius sensed someone take the seat next to him. He was sitting on the bottom bench of the Quidditch stands. It was a chilly night and Sirius wished he had taken his heavier cloak, even though that one had a large Black family crest sewed on the front.

Sirius didn't have to pick his head up to know it was James. Sirius had come outside to think, but so far his thoughts were either blank or so jumbled that he didn't even want to try sorting them out. A few hours before, James and Sirius had completed Adair's detention. In general serving a detention mattered little to Sirius, but the fact this one was unwarranted and because of Snape and Lestrange getting the best of them, had made it harder to endure.

The vile Professor had been waiting calmly as a snake waiting to strike its prey. She had offered them a drink claiming it was her own homemade pumpkin juice. Sirius' first instinct was to refuse it, but when Adair settled her cold gleaming eyes on them, it suddenly seemed like an impossible rude action. Sirius accepted a cup and James shrugged as they both took a few sips of the strange substance. It was immediately evident that pumpkin was not on the ingredient list as the liquid burned Sirius' throat. A sudden onslaught of nausea attacked Sirius and he noticed James looked peaky. The room began to spin, his head hurt, and he groped at the nearest desk to support himself.

So what would have been an ordinary detention of scrubbing clean desks, turned out to be a torturous endless two hours. They had felt so miserable that neither of them bothered to talk to each other to make the time pass. Asking Adair to go to the nurse would only give the teacher more satisfaction. Strangely the effects of the drink mysteriously vanished the moment Adair dismissed them.

The silence between James and him was starting to annoy Sirius, but he couldn't think of a thing to say.

James apparently had something on his mind. "My parents wrote me…" He paused as if to gauge Sirius' reaction and continued. "And they want you to stay with us a few days over Christmas break."

Sirius picked his head up. It had gotten dark and only the dim light of the stars and the moon illuminated the area.

"Your parents invited me over?" Sirius asked in astonishment. He had never expected the Potters to accept him as a friend of James. He knew his family never would.

"Yes. We have plenty of room. You can have your pick of the guest rooms."

"What made them change their mind?"

"About what?" James shot him a puzzled look.

"Me. And you. A Black and Potter mates."

"I don't know if they exactly changed their mind, but- "

"I don't think it's a good idea," Sirius said quietly not meeting his friend's worried eyes.

"It was just a suggestion," James responded stiffly, "If you don't want to come just say so."

"It doesn't matter what I want. My parents would never let me near your house. There's nothing to discuss."

James frowned squinting in the distance. "How about coming over for afternoon tea?"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't think they'd let me spend one unnecessary minute with you. After all they only have a few weeks to undo all the damage that has been inflicted from being surrounded by unworthy blood for half the year."

James who was staring at some fire flies looked at him as if he wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic. Sirius hated having these conversations, especially dealing with parents. It had been alright for awhile when it appeared James' parents were being as prejudiced against the Black's as Sirius' family was against the Potters. Now these invitations for staying over and tea were messing it all up.

"I want to visit. Just right now it's too complicated…I'm skating on thin ice as it is."

"What if I come over your house?"

"That won't work either."

Sirius decided it was best to change topics as quickly as possible. "Did you notice the cut on Remus' face?"

"Off course," scoffed James, "Hard not to."

"Very suspicious. It was as if he was attacked by something with claws…"

"Which doesn't make any sense. Unless his sick mother has claws, which I guess isn't completely improbable because he never told us what disease she had."

"If she is even sick…"

"Maybe they live somewhere rural and Remus tripped and fell on rocks…"

"That would mean every time he visits his mother he trips on the same rocks? Even Peter wouldn't be that clumsy."

"Don't forget that the cut looked as if it was taken care off. Someone gave him fast-acting healing paste."

"Not fast-acting enough. We still noticed it."

"Which means the paste was put on his cut at Hogwarts, not too long after he came back to the common room, otherwise the cut would have been much less noticeable."

"So that means…"

"Absolutely nothing. It still doesn't get us anywhere."

"Should we ask him about it?"

"No. We can't let Remus know we're suspicious."

With that settled and still numerous questions on their minds, James and Sirius sat in companionable silence. Eventually they grew tired and they slipped back into Hogwarts under the cover of a very handy Invisibility cloak.

* * *

Quidditch game days were always exciting. It was rare indeed to find a student who did not get caught in the excitement. James who up to now had been very excited about the upcoming game had grown very quiet.

This had been a surprise to everyone especially since James had been boosting all along about his flying and he had been holding a verbal day to day countdown for the past two weeks. James was not only picking at his food but ruffling his hair, which were sure signs of his nervousness.

Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw, who had won the Cup the past year. All the players from last year's team were returning, so the rumors circulating were that Ravenclaw would be just as good this year as last year.

"Team to the pitch," Robert McCoy ordered to the scattered players along the Gryffindor Table.

"Good luck," Sirius said encouragingly because James had turned deathly pale. James only managed a weak smile before joining his teammates, who were all also subdued.

A little later, Sirius, Remus and Peter joined the throng of students heading to get the best seats on the Quidditch stadium. They had gotten there early enough so that they were on top. The side they were seated on was a swarm of red and gold color – from hats, scarves, gloves to handmade signs and flags.

Peter had made a poster with gold letters outlined in red that read 'Go Go Gryffindor'. He was now holding it up and his face was red and shiny from a mixture of excitement and wind. Peter had also drawn a stick figure on a broomstick that even for its lack of detail resembled James because it had messy brown hair. Remus had charmed the stick figure to dart around the poster.

A group that consisted of all the second year girls in Gryffindor sat near the boys. Though Sirius had been in class with these girls for some time he realized most of them he barely knew and rarely interacted with.

As usual Grace Landon, Ellie Aston, and Mattie Carter were huddled in laughter. One could only guess what they were gossiping at the moment about. Each girl had painted two gold stars on their right cheek. Grace who was known for painting her nails in bright colors on a regular basis had picked the brightest, most obnoxious red possible.

Near those girls, Lily was sitting between Adrianna who was staring longingly at the field (most likely wishing she was playing, though that meant someone was seriously injured) and Cory who was scowling at the pitch. Though their relationship with Cory Connor hadn't really improved, it at least hadn't gotten worse. He tolerated them and they mostly ignored each other.

Mattie Carter stood up; her rosy cheeks against her pale skin brought out her blue eyes. Mattie greeted another pretty girl who Sirius recognized as Darien's friend; the girl who had asked about him. Sirius searched his memory for her name – Ally.

Ally had apparently felt his eyes because she turned to look at him, dipping her head slightly to the side and gave him a shy smile. Ally had also embraced the Gryffindor pride having intertwined red and gold string in her braids. Sirius felt butterflies fill his stomach, feeling a strange sense of nervousness. He had no experience with girls liking him. Should he go talk to her? He wasn't sure, so he pretended to be very interested in the sky.

Giving him sometime to plan his strategy, the student announcer from Hufflepuff began talking as the teams flew in.

"Here comes the new Gryffindor team. Returning as chaser and now Captain, is Robert McCoy! Joining him as chasers are newcomers, James Potter and Darien Robertson. Returning from last year are the Prewett brothers as beaters, Clara Topper as keeper and last, but not least Camille Heron as seeker."

A deafening cheer erupted on the Gryffindor side and the game hadn't even started yet. Emotion and excitement had been running high all week and finally today it could be released.

"Although there is a lot of speculation that this years Gryffindor team will be the best the House has seen in ages, it has not been overshadowed the controversy over Captain McCoy's choices for chasers. Instead of choosing older, larger more experienced players (some of them his own roommates), he opted this year to go with younger, smaller, less experienced ones. Today we will see if he regrets his choice."

Professor Sprout, Herbology teacher and Head of Hufflepuff, gave the lad a hard look and he hastily began talking about a different topic.

"Controversy? I didn't know about his," Sirius said looking questionably at his friends. Remus shrugged, but Peter looked pleased. "I did." His round eyes did not conceal his excitement about knowing something Sirius and Remus had no knowledge of.

"Two of his friends tried out, they're sixth years so basically this is one of their last years left to try out for the team. They felt they flew just as good if not better than James and Darien. They've been giving McCoy the cold shoulder for a few weeks. Haven't you noticed Robert has been sitting at meals with different people?"

Sirius obviously hadn't noticed and he was concerned that Peter had. Having been the bud of many rumors, Sirius supposed he'd been tuning them out. He wondered if James had known and if that was part of the reason he had been so uncharacteristically nervous.

"It's all rubbish," Remus voiced, "People would be complaining if he picked his friends too."

Their conversation quickly ended with the start of the game. The Captains shook hands and the balls were released. One of the Ravenclaw chasers got a hold of the quaffle and while he was passing it to a teammate, James cut in from below gaining possession of the ball. He zipped by and threw the quaffle to Darien, who threw it to Robert, who scored the first goal. After that the announcer made no more comments about McCoy's picks nor did anyone else.

Sirius hadn't quite realized how spectacular a flyer James was. The times they had practiced or played around with the quaffle, James must have toned down his skill. Now finally in a game setting, it was as if all his talent was being released, gushing out to win them the game.

It wasn't an easy win. The teams were well matched. The scoring went back and forth. Both Darien and James were able to score, but their Keeper was having a tough time today. Camille, out of the blue, made a strange loop in mid air and was speeding straight toward the stands. She caught the snitch having to make a sharp, impossible turn to stop herself from crashing into the crowd. The Gryffindor side roared in excitement and in a way it felt as if they had already won the cup.

Peter was bouncing up and down, dropping his sign to join all the clapping. As the Gryffindor team landed, everyone in their part of the stands swarmed the field wanting to congratulate their Housemates.

Sirius, Remus and Peter began navigating the crowd in search of James. When they spotted him, James was flanked by Ellie Aston and Grace Landon. It looked like the girls had claimed James as their own and were beaming as if they had just won a coveted prize. James looked uncomfortable and gratefully smiled when his friends' presence gave him a polite excuse to extract himself from his admirers.

"You were greeeeat!" squealed Peter.

"Excellent," agreed Sirius patting his mate on the back.

"That dive…and that swerve and that goal," Peter gushed gazing at James in the similar star-gazed look Grace and Ellie had.

"Thanks!" James didn't seem to mind the praise so much now that it came from a friend.

"Glad you didn't disappoint me," boomed McCoy, "Worried there for a bit – I'll admit."

Robert's friends, who where now apparently speaking to him were anxiously waving for him to join them and McCoy told them he'd see them in the Common Room for the celebration.

Last year there hadn't been many games to celebrate, so Sirius was excited to finally be part of a full celebration. It took them awhile to get to the common room and the party was in full swing by the time they entered. Someone had taken the sign Peter had dropped in the stands and hung it up. Gryffindors, bottles of butterbeer, cups of cherry punch and snacks were scattered every where and on every piece of furniture.

"Potter! Over here!" Fabien Prewett called, "We're going to do a team toast."

James strode over to his teammates while Sirius motioned Remus and Peter over to the snack table. After a plateful of honey cake, a few butterbeers and many cups of punch which had a bitter taste to it, Sirius was starting to feel dizzy and unlike himself. It was then off course that he should bump into Ally.

"Hi," Ally said giving him a smile that made his heart beat madly. No smile had ever done that to him before. "I'm Ally Water."

"Sirius Black." He grinned hoping to look alluring. He suspected he looked quite foolish to her.

"I know," she giggled glancing back to her friends and blurted out, 'I think you're cute."

Sirius felt his face redden. It must be from the heat in the room, he reasoned.

"Y-you're – umm – you're…" His brain had decided his mouth could handle this conversation on its own.

"Pretty?" she offered.

"Pretty," he agreed, too glad for the suggestion to try to understand the implications of the words. He did think she was pretty, but then again with the room spinning he wasn't sure if he could rely on his senses. Someone had obliviously spiked the punch.

He felt Ally's hand in his and she was leading him through the crowd, outside to the hallway, to the passageway behind the tapestry of the nun which behind it had the quickest passage to the Astronomy tower.

She was slightly taller than him and smelled like cinnamon. He was so close to Ally that he could see light sprinkle of freckles on her face. Before Sirius could begin to sort what was or might be going on, Ally was bending toward him, eyes closed, lips slightly apart. Pushing all care and worry out of his mind, he closed his eyes too and leaned in to meet her…

**A/N: Enjoyed the chapter? Well now is the perfect time to let me know your thoughts in a Review!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. All those reviewers who did not sign-in, I have your response in my profile. **

**I'm working on two different one-shots, which I also hope to post soon. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: All the characters that are found in the wonderful Harry Potter book series belong to JK Rowling.**

**A/N: Hello readers, this chapter is finally completed! It's been awhile, about a month. I really thought this chapter would be easy to write because I had it outlined in my mind for awhile, but every time I sat down to start writing, I'd only manage to write a few sentences. The chapter is lengthy (20 pages in word), so at least you get a long chapter for you long wait. Thanks for being patient, please enjoy!**

The next morning, most Gryffindor students choose to catch up on sleep instead of eating breakfast in the Great Hall. McGonagall had allowed the party to last until eleven pm, and then she and a few reluctant Prefects made sure everyone headed straight for bed.

As Sirius joined his friends for breakfast he realized his departure with Ally had not gone unnoticed as he had hoped. His friends were shooting him curious looks, but none had moved on to verbally questioning him yet.

In an effort to keep them away from _that _subject, Sirius decided to steer the conversation in a completely different direction.

"I was thinking about your offer to visit you during Christmas break," he began.

James perked up; he had been literally falling asleep into his bowl of porridge. "You think you can convince your parents?"

"No," Sirius answered bluntly taking a slow sip of his orange juice, "But I think I can convince them to allow me to come over to Peter's house."

"My house?" Peter was so alarmed by this that he started choking on the piece of pancake he was chewing. "I don't know…with the new baby…"

"I wouldn't really be staying with you Pete. It would be a small detour. I'd stop in for a few minutes and then continue on to James' house."

"Do you think that will work?" James asked.

"Yes. The Pettigrew's aren't the purist bunch, but pure enough and they haven't done anything to put them on the Black's marked list. There's no reason for them not to allow me that I can think of _if _I behave."

"Excellent." James turned to Remus and Peter, "You both are also welcome over to my house."

"I can't," Remus said quickly, "I'm staying over at Hogwarts."

"You are?" Sirius didn't bother to pretend that he was surprised. Wouldn't the holiday break be the perfect opportunity for Remus to visit is sick mother daily?

"My parents are staying abroad to visit this doctor that they hope will help my mother's illness. I could stay at my Aunt's but I'd rather not."

"I hope they find a cure," Peter said for he was the only one who still believed Remus' lies.

"What about you Peter?"

"I hope I can! I'll have to ask my parents…"

"If you do come, make sure it's a day after Sirius does otherwise he won't have a place to detour to," James reminded.

Sirius congratulated himself silently for keeping them from the Ally topic. Most likely they had completely forgotten…

"Ok, I'm not waiting any longer," James exclaimed speaking louder than he needed. He grinned slyly, "Where did you and Ally disappear to?"

"I saw them leave the common room together," Peter supplied helpfully.

Sirius shot Peter a look; he was never good at keeping information like that to himself.

Sirius shrugged. "We did leave." He went back to eating his breakfast pretending he didn't notice his friends staring at him in bewilderment.

"And?" James prompted. It was rather fun driving James crazy with his nonchalance. Even the usually calm and cool Remus was looking at him in annoyance.

"Let's see we…ummm…" He pretended to think really hard, "We walked a bit, then talked a bit."

With that _incredible_ revelation, Sirius went back to eating his breakfast.

"You walked and talked?" James didn't look at all convinced at the legitimacy of that statement. "You could have done that in the common room."

"Perhaps we needed privacy for the kiss…"

"What?!" Peter and James babbled simultaneously.

"You kissed?" Remus asked in awe. Sirius nodded noncommittally.

In an exasperated tone, James inquired, "Well? How was it?"

"It was-"

The three boys leaned closer toward Sirius. Besides seeing older students snogging on the couches, none of them had any experience when it came to kissing girls.

"It was nice," Sirius finished, leaning back in his chair.

"Nice?" James' face fell. "That's it? Nice?"

"And weird, but in a good way." Sirius smiled remembering the kiss, her soft lips, her comforting presence, her smell… He felt his face redden a bit in embarrassment. "She smelled nice, like flowers."

Sirius half-expected his friends to burst out laughing, but they all regarded every word he said very seriously.

"Why did she kiss you?" Peter asked innocently gazing at Sirius with the same type of admiration he had given James after his first Quidditch match.

"Because she _likes _him Peter," James answered shaking his head in annoyance.

"Ally told me she wanted to be my first kiss…because according to her soon loads of girls will be lining up and then I wouldn't give her a second glance."

"Lines of girls, eh?" Remus grinned.

"I wasn't about to argue with a prediction like that."

"So what now? Are you two…" Remus trailed off.

"I don't know." Sirius hoped his voice didn't sound as panicky as he felt. What was the next step? Was there a next step? He hadn't thought anything beyond the one innocent moment they had together.

Just then Ally entered the Great Hall with a group of friends. Even though she looked tired and her hair was messy, when she smiled radiantly toward Sirius she looked as pretty as she did yesterday.

Sirius watched with apprehension as she began walking toward them, and sighed with relief when she seemed content to sit with her friends about ten seats from him. He wouldn't have known how to act if she had wanted to sit with him or him sit with her.

Sirius turned to his friends and with more confidence than he really felt on the matter he proclaimed, "Though I wouldn't mind kissing her again…"

* * *

Lily Evans swung her bag over her shoulder standing up from the couch she had been occupying. 

"Where are you going?" Cory asked her the moment she stood up. Though he made it sound as if he didn't really care, Lily knew the truth. She considered Cory one of her closest friends, but he was very needy. He needed to be constantly reminded that Lily really was his friend and she really did enjoy hanging out with him. And if she ever planned something like this without letting him know, he became worried.

"Meeting Lupin in the library," she replied and she had to suppress her eye roll at Cory's expression of distaste. He was suspicious of any activity dealing with one of his four roommates.

"We're partners for Slughorn's project," Lily elaborated.

"Oh, right…you're starting that already?" At least this appeared to placate him.

"It will be due before we know it…and if I don't hurry I'm going to be late and you know I hate that."

Near the entrance of the library, she noticed a bit of commotion. Though she hadn't seen what had happened, a small girl stood with her face in her hands sporting electric blue bushy hair. It was fairly obvious that this was not her natural hair color and lo and behold near her stood Potter and Black laughing and looking pleased. Lily sighed audibly. Potter had confidence to spare as it was, and his recent Quidditch victory had only enlarged his ego. One good thing was the more James showed off the less Lily found her liking him. Without even trying the crush she had wanted to get rid off was slowly disappearing on its own.

Lily easily found Remus; he was sitting near the front.

"Hello, Lily," he said pleasantly.

"Hi, Remus," she smiled placing her bag on the ground and taking the piece of paper that told them all the requirements for the project.

Professor Slughorn had assigned them partners to write a joint paper about potion properties. They had been assigned to research information about a _Sleeping Beauty _Potion. The founder of the potion had been Muggleborn, hence the origin of its name. Needless to say the potion would put whoever consumed it into a deep peaceful sleep that would last at least a week, sometimes longer depending on the weight of the individual and how long it took the potion to work through the body.

"I saw your friends attacking a poor first year," Lily supplied, using the tone of the one describing the weather.

"Excuse me?" Remus picked his head up to look at her curiously.

"Outside the library, your friends, Potter and Black were attacking some poor girl," Lily repeated giving him a pointed stare.

"Attacking?"

"Yes. The poor girl's hair was completely turned blue."

"Seems quite harmless…"

"Harmless? Surely you don't approve of such behavior."

"I'm not my friends' keeper," he replied coolly.

"They were behaving like idiots."

"Don't insult my friends in front of me, Evans," his cool slightly amused tone had turned cold. Lily hadn't meant for the conversation to turn in such a way. She had been pleased to be partnered with Remus; he was very levelheaded and he always had his homework completed.

"I didn't mean to insult them, but that doesn't change that their behavior is…"

"If it bothered you so much why didn't you report it to a teacher?"

Remus' words caused her to pause. He must think she was mad.

"I didn't see one and I believe they'd listen to you faster than any teacher."

"It's not my place."

"Are you afraid to confront them? They wouldn't drop your friendship because of something like that, would they?"

"No," he replied a bit too quickly. "I just – I just think you're making this into more of a deal than it is."

"Why are your friends with them Remus? You're nothing like them?" She knew her tone was coming out more condescending than the concerned-friend-tone she was aiming for.

Lily couldn't help, but notice the drastic difference in Remus' demeanor versus James and Sirius. Peter was also different, but he had an obvious spot in the group. Remus on the other hand, did not seem to fit. So what made him gravitate towards those three troublemakers and not Cory or Lily or anyone else in their year for that matter? Remus had been caught doing mischief with the others, but Lily was positive if it weren't for who he chose as company, he wouldn't have one detention in his name.

"I didn't realize you weren't allowed to be friends with people different than you." His brown eyes took on a gold coloring in the afternoon light shining in from the high window above them; he looked almost wolfish.

"You're right," Lily admitted, "But if they ever pressure you into something you don't want to do, if ever you're only going to do something so they stay your friends, remember you're always welcome to sit with me."

"I do have a mind of my own, Evans! I can handle my mates. I don't know where you've gotten the impression I'm being forced to be in their company."

"We'll be playing a rousing game of Exploding Snap in the common room tonight. Perhaps you'd like to join us."

Remus seemed to be considering her offer. "I already have plans."

"In other words, they won't be happy if you abandon them for a night."

"I didn't say that. How about you join me and my friends instead? You'll see they aren't bad people, who surely wouldn't force anyone to hangout with them."

The tables were suddenly turned. "Sorry?"

"I'm not lying about having plans. Since you're so worried about who I hangout with than why don't you join us, since surly _your friends _wouldn't care if you didn't join them for one night. I can promise it will be much more exciting than Exploding Snap."

That peaked her interest and though Remus was clearly alluding to rule breaking, it wasn't that Lily cared that much about that. She didn't obey every rule. Just this summer she had gotten so mad at her sister that she had broken the no underage magic rule outside of Hogwarts.

"Fine. I'll come."

"Great. I'll meet you in the common room around eleven thirty pm. Dress warmly, but disguise it…don't make it look like you're dressed to go outside."

"Outside?" What on earth had Lily agreed to?

"Yes. Are you still in?" He was having fun with her now. Well the Gryffindor in her wouldn't allow Lupin to think she was scared.

"Yes. Now I think we should get started on that paper already…"

* * *

It had taken some time for Lily to convince her friends that she was serious about spending time with Remus and his friends. 

"Lily, if you didn't want to play Exploding Snap you could have at least come up with a better excuse," Mattie said.

She was able to dodge more questions by leaving the room. She'd worry about explanations later since she was supposed to have been downstairs five minutes ago. Since it was late, the common room had mostly emptied already but there were still enough people to notice them all leaving after curfew. She soon found out that the boys had that all covered.

Remus walked up to her. "Thanks for escorting me to the Hospital Wing," Remus sad loudly and clearly so every person in the room could hear. A few people glanced their way and then turned away uninterested. Outside the common room Remus explained that he had only mentioned the Hospital Wing to cover their tracks incase anyone became suspicious.

"Where are the others?"

"Waiting for us outside. Come on!"

Remus walked swiftly through the corridors and thankfully they didn't meet a soul, not even a Hogwarts' ghost. As they slipped outside, the chilly air immediately wrapped itself around them, penetrating the few layers of cloth easily. It was dark and cloudy out. The moon was half visible and a few stars could be made out. Three shadowy figures stood by the edge of the Forest. The only reason they were at all visible was because of their lit wands.

"What's she doing here?" James looked at Lily suspiciously.

"You didn't tell them I was coming?" Lily demanded looking at Remus with equal suspicion. _All this talk about him trusting his friends and he hadn't even asked them._

"I told Sirius and he was supposed to tell James," Remus replied calmly.

"Errr- right," Sirius grinned cheekily from Remus to James, "Remus invited Evans."

"Thanks for telling me. I really appreciate it," James muttered sarcastically. He looked over at her. "I suppose she has to come now. Let's get going."

Lily stood rooted to her spot as James began to enter the Forbidden Forest.

"We aren't going in there, are we?" Lily gasped.

"Scared, Evans?" Sirius taunted. Well no self-respecting Gryffindor dared admit to another that anything like this frightened them.

"No. I was just checking." Lily took a deep breath and followed her Housemates into the woods. She was still worried obviously for there had to be a plausible reason for the naming this area of trees the Forbidden Forest. To make matters worse it was night and everyone knew the most horrible creatures roamed around during the night.

"Don't worry, we've been here before," Remus whispered.

"You know what's strange? My parents two years before I got my Hogwarts letter were finally able to convince me that there were no such things as ghosts, vampires and werewolves and then I come here to find out they all do exist."

Potter and Black were conversing in low tones a few feet in front of them. Pettigrew was struggling to keep up a few steps behind James and Sirius looking to the left and right in apprehension every thirty seconds. Lily and Remus brought up the rear. Lily was relieved that for the moment they were following a trail.

There was suddenly a loud screeching sound and something large flew from the trees to the left to the trees on the right. They all fell to their knees covering their heads with their hands because of how low the creature had flown.

_Hoot-hoot _said the creature indignantly and it gazed at the second years with gleaming eyes; then flew away.

"It's just an owl!" Lily exclaimed. She was the first to spot it and the first to stand up.

Everyone laughed it off, but they continued the journey in closer proximity to each other. The woods became suddenly much thicker and James led them now off the main trail. After battling through a very dense area of shrubs; there were leaves sticking out of everyone's hair. Lily couldn't help to ask, "Are you sure this is the…"

The question died on her lips before Lily could finish. It was clear that they had reached their destination, which was a large patch of flowers. These flowers were no ordinary flowers because they glowed, twinkled and shone in all the colors of the rainbow.

"Wow," Remus replied next to her. They all took a seat on a log that appeared to be placed just for their benefit.

It was then the real show began. The flowers began to shoot pods of seeds into the air that exploded in bright beautiful colored lights, coating the area with fluorescent seeds for miles around them. It was like a private firework show just for them without the loud noise. The pods just made little popping noises when they exploded.

"Where did you hear about this James?" Peter asked his eyes never leaving the sparkles in the sky.

"My father told me about this rare flower found in abundance in the Forbidden Forest. He then mentioned that it usually occurs for four to five days during the first week of December and much to my mother's dismay he even showed me a picture of the flower. They aren't very remarkable looking during the day, only at night and only during this time when they are trying to spread their seeds."

They watched the natural light show for close to an hour in silence. Soon the flowers dimmed in color and the seeds that had spread across the forest had also stopped glowing- now attempting to make a home in the nearly frozen ground.

Lily stood up stretching her stiff legs realizing how cold it really had gotten. The lights in the sky had given the illusion it was warmer than it was and as the area darkened, Lily noticed how low the cloud cover had grown, she couldn't stop shivering.

"Everyone stay close," James instructed as he began to lead the group through the misty forest. Lily wasn't completely confident he knew where he was going, but then again he had gotten them to the destination safely. They now walked in a straight line because of how foggy it had gotten. Lily lagged slightly behind lost in thought keeping the sandy-haired boy just in her sight. Suddenly she felt that someone or something was staring at her back and she whipped around hoping to catch whatever it was unaware. A silent forest greeted her. Chiding herself for being worried for nothing, she turned back to her companions to realize she had completely lost sight of them.

"Remus?" Lily called out tentatively. They couldn't have gotten that far ahead; she had turned around for less than thirty seconds. She quickened her pace fully confident she'd run into them but around her all she saw were trees. Then she heard what sounded like two people scuffling and quick loud footsteps heading straight toward her coming out of the thickest part of the mist. She decided not to wait around to see what it was and ran in a random direction hoping it was the way out of the forest. She ran until a shadowy figure up in a tree branch only inch above her head jumped right in front of her. She turned abruptly to run in another direction and cried out as she tripped on a stray root that hadn't been there before. Were the trees against her as well?

The figure that had jumped at her was now emitting a strange sound – it almost sounded like…like laughter?

Another cloaked figure joined them and Lily faintly thought it must be what had been chasing her moments ago. The figures pulled down their hoods to reveal them to be none other than James Potter and Sirius Black.

"That wasn't funny," Lily stated trying to catch her breath and stop the pumping adrenaline through her veins. Two other people joined them, Remus looking bewildered and Peter looking guilty.

Remus was relieved to see them all unharmed. "There you all are! Peter suddenly veered off the path, he said he'd lost you…and Lily are you all right?"

"All right? Am I all right? Ask Potter and Black!!!"

She didn't wait to hear Remus' response. She knew this had been a bad idea to begin with. She was badly shaken and it hadn't helped matters to see James and Sirius laughing at her. Her anger was to mask how frightened she had really been. She heard the boys protesting for her to return, so they could all safely find their way out. _Now they suddenly cared about her safety! After practically giving her a fright! She had almost twisted her ankle on that root because of their games._

By some miracle she found her way out of the forest. Parts of her robes were torn and branches and leaves had gotten stuck in her auburn waves, but at least she had her dignity, which she felt was more important.

She woke up later than usual for breakfast. Her roommates had already eaten and had been worried about waking her since they had heard her come in late last night. Though Cory had already eaten, he accompanied her. Remus, James, Sirius and Peter were already seated at the table. Lily tried to make a statement about picking the seat farthest from them but she doubted anyone noticed. After a few minutes Remus stood up and walked over to where she was seated.

"Mind if I sit?"

Lily nodded. She was wondering when one of them was going to apologize to her.

"So about last night…" he paused glancing at Cory.

"You can speak freely. He knows."

"You – you told him?" Remus looked shocked and Cory gave him a smug look.

"Yes. I told him." She needed to vent to someone about last night.

"This was supposed to only be between the five of us," Remus stated softly, "We broke a slew of school rules last night."

"He's not going to tell," Lily replied giving Cory a hard look. She knew he wouldn't even if it was only for the reason that Cory knew Lily would get in as much trouble as everyone else.

"I won't tell," Cory said and murmured, "Not that I don't want to."

Lily cut Cory's words off quickly. "So what is it that you wanted to say?"

Remus stared at Cory for a few moments. He'd obviously heard his last few words. He sighed, "I hope you understand that it was just a joke. They were just testing you…"

This did not sound like the apology she had expected.

"Why would they need to test me? You _invited _me."

"If I had known they were going to do that, I would have stopped them. There was no harm done."

"No harm done?" Maybe not physically, Lily mused, but the dark had always frightened her, activating her already over-active imagination. The boys might have not known this, but that didn't give them the right. "I could have twisted on ankle. I thought something had eaten you all!"

Remus smiled, "The dark creatures in the forest generally leave students alone, as long as you don't bother them."

"It wasn't funny. Don't even try and make me believe that."

"It was a joke. That's just how they are. It wasn't personal."

"I see," Lily retorted. She realized that Remus was obviously on his friends' side.

Remus looked at her carefully. "So you're angry?"

"Obviously."

"I hope you at least enjoyed yourself."

Lily had enjoyed it immensely, which is what made their joke even worse. She was pleasantly surprised how she had enjoyed the walk and sitting watching the lights, and they had ruined it all for some laughs.

"Somewhat" Lily answered grudgingly. Lily turned to her breakfast signaling her conversation with Remus was over, unless he wanted to amend any of his words.

"Ok, well see you later."

Lily watched him leave and she watched him exchange words with his mates. Potter turned to catch her gaze, but she turned quickly feeling her face redden. That day whatever potential spark of friendship Lily might have had with the four mischief makers was doused considerably. Perhaps if Remus had apologized more or if Lily had laughed it off things could have turned out differently. At least Lily and Remus were adult enough not to let this 'bump in the road' affect how they worked together on the project. If they had been on better turns they may have talked more about trivial stuff. At least the situation allowed them to work quickly and they received top marks.

* * *

Even though Remus was not on the best terms now with Lily Evans; he found himself mulling over her words. He had taken his friends' side when it came to the joke in the forest. It hadn't been kind of James and Sirius, true, but he did believe it was all harmless. He didn't see the point in getting into a disagreement with James and Sirius over such a trivial matter. He couldn't even imagine beginning such a conversation. 

Remus felt he was in a precarious situation as it was. He valued their friendship more than his friends' realized, which was why he hated lying to them each month, but he knew he had to keep it up. He sensed only Peter remained convinced of his stories and he knew James and Sirius would be suspicious that he was staying over at Hogwarts instead of going home where he could see his mother daily.

He hadn't been entirely lying. His parents were going abroad, but they were looking for something to cure him or at least make his transformations more bearable. His mother had recently written him that his father was becoming quite obsessed with finding a cure. And Remus now knew why. His father blamed himself and though Remus was sure his father hadn't meant for it to happen, in a way it was _his_ fault.

James had been acting more cocky than usual since the Quidditch match. He never seemed to tire of boosting about his abilities to anyone who stood around long enough to listen. And there never seemed to be a lack of audience.

Sirius got annoyed by this the fastest or maybe he was the only one brave enough to voice a complaint. "Shut it, Potter! We know you can fly," Sirius grumbled one afternoon. James did calm down after that.

Lily had been right that he wasn't at all like his friends. Why she cared though Remus didn't understand? One thing she didn't realize was how he wished he were more like James and Sirius. At a young age Remus had learned how cruel humans could be to one another. His cautiousness, shyness, and attempts to remain unnoticed were all a byproduct of that. His parents had warned him to be extra cautious about his secret. The few friends his Mum and Dad had confided to when Remus was a young child had all abandoned them. They told Remus these stories often, not meaning to scare Remus about trusting people, but to protect him. They didn't understand how lonely Remus really was; Remus himself hadn't realized how lonely he was, until James and Sirius had offered a hand in friendship. His parents had warned him to neither make close friends, nor enemies, anyone who grew interested in him meant his secret could be surfaced. And friends could easily turn to foe if one learned he was a half-breed.

Before Hogwarts, Remus had never met boys like James and Sirius. Their outlook on life was completely different than his and this difference drew Remus toward them. Instead of hiding in the crowd, they made waves. They made themselves the center of attention, especially James. And each day Remus was growing closer to them and he found himself at times wondering what their reaction would be if they knew his secret. The problem was he couldn't gamble on something like that. He'd have to leave Hogwarts if they rejected him. James was well liked; they could easily spread that news in a few hours. His parents would be completely disappointed and without a Hogwarts degree he knew the little chance of ever finding employment would diminish greatly.

Later that evening Remus followed slightly behind his friends as they entered the Gryffindor common room. They didn't have any specific plans except catching up on some homework and thinking up a target for their next prank.

For what seemed like the tenth time that day James asked Sirius, "You sure you don't want to me try out that charm? It doesn't look too difficult…" James had been trying to get Sirius to agree to go under a charm that would make him less attractive to the opposite sex. News of Sirius kissing Ally had traveled far and wide. And that information had increased Sirius' popularity status in the eyes of Hogwarts many groups of giggling girls. The girls trailing them and the giggling annoyed James the most.

"Honestly I don't see why they consider you experienced," James said seriously.

"Why not?" Sirius asked grinning at his mate.

"It was only a kiss. One as in singular. And it was just lips, was it not?"

Sirius nodded falling onto his bed.

"How else would they kiss?" Peter asked as he too plopped onto his bed though not with the same grace as Sirius.

"I don't think I should tell you," James answered gravely.

"Awww…come on tell me!" Peter whined.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You really don't know?"

Peter turned red, "You all do?"

Remus only knew because he had seen older students kissing on the couches.

James whispered something to Peter.

"Oh…" Peter thought this over carefully, "Ohhhh."

James shrugged and turned back to Sirius. "Don't tell me you enjoy all that giggling!" he demanded.

Remus was usually good at reading people. He'd noticed that though Sirius had mixed feelings about the sudden female attention, around James he acted confident about it. Most likely just because it irked James so much. Remus didn't really see why James had any reason to complain. More students had also noticed him since he's spectacular flying during Gryffindor's first match.

"You have the lovely Victoria's affection. Is that not enough for you?" teased Sirius.

"Don't remind me…" James said with a groan.

"You just need to kiss someone. How about Evans?"

Remus glanced suddenly at Sirius surprised that he had picked her. Remus had gotten a feeling that Lily had a crush on James. Did Sirius think that as well?

"Be reasonable. Perhaps someone who likes me?" James answered.

"Victoria likes you," Peter said with a sing-songy voice.

Remus was growing tired of the topic of conversation. James had been on about this since the morning.

"I think Adair should be our next target." Three heads turned in his direction. "And I have an idea."

The rest of the night Remus spent outlining his plan to them and they made the necessary changes in order to make it all work out. It was the first time he had been so actively involved in the planning of a prank and Remus found he enjoyed the exhilarating feeling.

* * *

Many plans sounded good on paper. The problem with ideas sounding good on paper was that they actually had to work in real life. 

"Peter, you can have first watch," Sirius instructed.

"I want to help too," Peter said looking alarmed that he'd been demoted to watch dog.

"We'll rotate watch," Remus assured him.

"Does everyone remember the signal if you see Filch or his cat or a teacher?" James asked surveying the group seriously. "Ok, Peter, here's the cloak. Be careful with it! And if you hear the signal, find a place to hide quickly."

The plan was quite simple and didn't require learning of any new spells, charms or hexes. Professor Adair's classroom and Professor Tucker's classroom, the Ancient Runes teacher, were two doors apart. The width and length of the rooms were the same. The same desks were in the rooms, even the teachers' desks were identical. They were just going to switch the two rooms around.

James and Sirius were working on changing the wall colors. Adair's classroom was a bluish and Tucker's was more of a greenish color. Remus' task was to work on switching the stuff on top of the desk and to switch the drawers. Using the levitation charm and a switching charm they had just learned, the task turned out to be easier than he'd expected.

When James went to do watch, Peter worked on setting up the desks. In each of the rooms it was slightly different. It took him quite a while because he moved them without magic. Remus then helped Sirius switch the portraits and other various decorations that was specific to each of the teachers. They were all finished by the time it was Remus' turn to do begin watch. The whole process had only taken them about an hour and fifteen minutes.

"They'll be in for a surprise," Sirius said smirking, "I can already imagine. We need to get to class early. I want to see Adair's face. I wish we could take a picture."

"That won't look suspicious, say cheese Professor, we just want to remember this forever, but we didn't have anything to do with it. We were sound asleep in our beds," Remus replied.

"She'll assume it's us anyway," Sirius replied.

"I hope she realizes it's us," James said ruffling his hair.

"You want to go through one of her horrible detentions?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I want her to remember us," James smiled. "Anything she throws at us will be worth it."

"I agree," Sirius remarked joyfully.

"Me too," Peter said giving a little hop in his excitement.

They all turned to Remus, who shrugged. "I suppose."

* * *

Peter was a nervous person by nature. Normal everyday things made him nervous, such as if the teacher would call him in class or he wouldn't have anyone to partner up with in class. Waiting to see Adair's reaction was driving him crazy. He'd been so nervous during breakfast that he'd stuffed his face and now he was feeling a bit sick.

He was seated next to Remus as usual. James and Sirius sat in another desk to their right. They were the first to arrive for class that morning. Peter was finding it entertaining enough just to watch every student's individual reaction when they stepped into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Most looked around in bewilderment and a few even stepped outside the classroom to verify the room number.

"Did Professor Adair change rooms?" Grace Landon asked them as she entered with Mattie Carter and Ellie Aston.

James shrugged and smiled innocently. "I guess we'll find out."

There were only five minutes left until class began, but it could have been an eternity. Peter fidgeted with the quill on his desk. Besides common knowledge that Peter hung around with James, Sirius and Remus, he hadn't yet gotten on the wrong side of Professor Adair. Since he wasn't as strong as his friends, he wasn't in a hurry to anger Adair. Once he showed up on Adair's radar, he was sure she'd be able to sense his weakness and pick on him the most.

"Don't look so worried," James whispered to Peter. _Was_ _his nervousness that obvious?_ "You'll give us away."

Did James believe that would make him worry less? It would be obvious to Adair it was them. Who else would have the gall to pull something off like this? It wasn't something a Slytherin would do and everyone knew James and Sirius were at odds with Adair. He'd lied last night about not caring about getting caught; in truth he was terrified.

"I hope you are all ready to work," Professor Adair announced as she entered the classroom, "We have a lot to do today."

Without glancing around the room, she walked straight to her desk. Peter could hear Sirius counting under his breath: _five, four, three, two, one_….

Adair stopped and that's when her face began to change colors. "What is going on here?!" she shouted, "What is the meaning of this?!"

Peter turned to glance discreetly at James and Sirius. They both looked like it was taking all their effort to not burst out laughing.

"It was like this when we entered, Professor." Snape's oily voice filled the room, his eyes drifting over to where they were all seated. He'd already guessed their involvement.

Adair began opening the drawers one by one. "Where are all my things? Is someone going to answer me? Rooms just don't change over night!"

Adair's eyes roamed around searching each of them for an answer. Her eyes were gleaming in anger. Peter shivered slightly.

The silence was broken by Professor Tucker entering the room with two fifth year students. He looked around in surprise; obviously he had not believed his students when they had claimed that his classroom had turned into Professor Adair's.

"I believe these are your things," Adair said dryly. The two teachers talked softly in the front of the room for a few moments.

One of the girls on the Slytherin side of the room raised her hand. "I was one of the first to arrive this morning like usual," Sydney Sarss pronounced, "Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew were all here even before me. I found it peculiar."

Professor Adair turned to where they were sitting smiling gleefully. If she hadn't suspected them before, she definitely did now. The spotlight was on them, Peter felt a trickle of cold sweat drip down his back. They were in for it now.

"Professor Adair, I didn't realize arriving early to class was a crime," James answered. He didn't look the least bit worried.

"So Mr. Potter, you had nothing to do with this?" The direct question was a surprise. James looked hesitantly at Sirius.

"I'd answer, if I could answer truthfully," James replied after a few moments of silence.

Did James want to get caught? Peter felt dread creeping up his spine.

"Is that a confession?" she demanded taking a few steps closer to where they were all seated. Peter squirmed even though Adair was glaring intently at James and Sirius.

"It would be impossible for him to pull this off by himself," Sirius said crossing his arms and looking defiantly directly at the teacher.

"Are you saying you were involved, Mr. Black?"

"I _may_ have changed the wall colors," Sirius replied rather proudly.

Mattie Carter and Ellie Aston both gasped astounded by his confession. Adair didn't appear to know what to do either. She had been expecting an argument.

Winking at the class, Sirius added, "It took a bit of effort to get it to not change back to its original color overnight."

"I see…" Adair stated slowly, the anger roaring in her eyes.

"I also helped with the wall colors," James slipped in.

James wouldn't let Sirius take all the credit. Peter was confused though; they had never agreed to this confession. What were they playing at?

"And which one of you was the mastermind behind this?" Adair addressed the two students, who by every right should be cowering in front of her. Sirius and James glanced uneasily at each other.

"That would be me," a shaky, hoarse voice replied. Peter turned to see it was Remus who had spoken. All the students looked astonished, even James and Sirius. They hadn't been about to rat out Remus like Peter had originally thought. They would have taken all the blame.

"Ah, well that figures. Your kind shouldn't even be allowed in the school." Peter had no idea what Adair was referring to; neither did anyone else by their expressions. Though Peter was very surprised that Remus had spoken up, it had been Lupin's idea. The whole prank had seemed strange to Peter from the beginning. Since when did Remus come up with plans that included rule breaking? It wasn't like him at all.

"Anyone else have a part in this?" Adair demanded. Though only a few people were looking at his direction, it felt as if everyone in the whole school was. The heat in the room was bothering him; he felt more sweat dripping down his neck. He should confess as well. He knew he should confess. He tried to open his mouth. He tried to make his lips form the words; he really did try. He couldn't do it.

He was a coward. That was a fact now.

"No, Professor," Sirius confirmed clearing his throat, "No one else."

Professor Tucker gathered some of his notes since the rooms couldn't be put back as they were right that moment. Professor Adair instructed Remus, Sirius and James to see her after class. Then she also tried to teach the class, but she was too distracted by the change in setting. Peter was glad about that small favor since at the moment he couldn't concentrate on a word the teacher was saying. He was worried now what his friends would say about him not taking part blame. Would they laugh and whisper _coward _behind his back? It wasn't as if he had done much to help anyway. He'd been put on first watch and told to move some desks around.

Peter later heard from his friends that in the end the confession had helped them. Though Adair hadn't wanted it, Professor Tucker had made sure Professor McGonagall became involved in the punishment process. Sirius reckoned that McGonagall had probably found the prank rather funny because she only took off a total 15 points and assigned two detentions. The first detention consisted of putting the rooms back how they should be without magic. Anything that required magic to change it back was done by one of the teachers.

James and Remus both insisted they weren't upset with Peter for not confessing. They attempted to quell his worries about not really belonging in Gryffindor because he was easily frightened and rarely showed bravery. Sirius kept quiet on the matter, which Peter felt was a sure sign he was angry.

Remus had a talk with him explaining that the day was behind them and that didn't matter, but it did. As much as he hated serving detention, Peter felt an intense loneliness when the three of them went off to serve one without him. He knew his parents were disappointed with him when he did receive a detention. They wanted him to make connections and friends, especially his father. His father was always on about making the right connections, yet they didn't realize to keep his friends, he'd be involved in many more detentions in his Hogwarts' career.

Peter was now alone in the dorm. He'd received a package from his father a few weeks ago. The package had contained a product that the wizard factory his father worked for had decided not to sell for one reason or another. His father called the product a _Two-way Mirror_. The mirrors looked quite ordinary, but according to what the instruction stated, two people could talk to each other through the mirror no matter where the other person was. The mirrors could easily be set to recognize one name or a series of names.

At first Peter was going to keep one of the mirrors for himself. He thought long and hard about who he should give the other one to. It came down between James and Sirius…he'd almost decided on James when he began to worry what Sirius would think. With the room switching prank still looming in his mind, Peter eventually decided the best thing to do was give them each a mirror as an early Christmas gifts. James and Sirius would find them more useful than Peter ever would.

James, Sirius, and Remus had just finished the last detention and had returned back to Gryffindor Tower. Sirius had taken a seat on the couches alongside Remus. James joined Peter at one of the tables. James was supposed to help Peter with the Transfiguration essay. Making sure Sirius wasn't watching Peter slipped the wrapped mirror towards James.

"What's this?" James asked.

"Christmas gift. Keep your voice down; I got the same thing for Sirius. Open it."

James shrugged and ripped through the paper. He didn't look particularly impressed; then again, to James, it would look like an ordinary hand mirror.

"Hang on. When I nod at you, say Sirius' name into the mirror."

"Ok," James said though he was really thinking 'are you mad?'

Peter waddled over to where Sirius was sitting on the couch. He hadn't wrapped Sirius' gift.

"Sirius! There's something on your face!" Peter exclaimed. "Here, I have a mirror. Check for yourself."

Peter handed over the other mirror to Sirius and as Sirius stared into his reflection, Peter nodded toward James.

"WHAT THE…" Sirius exclaimed jumping straight out of his seat. In place of his reflection was James' surprised, but grinning expression.

"Bloody hell, Peter. Where did you get mirrors like these?" Sirius exclaimed as James joined them.

"My father's factory made them. They are one of kind though since they decided not to mass produce them. They're yours, your Christmas gifts."

"So all we have to do is say each others name?" James asked.

"Yes, I set it to recognize your first name alone or with your last name attached. If it's in your pocket you'll feel slight vibration or ringing sensation to let you know someone is trying to contact you."

"Thanks, Pete," Sirius said patting him fondly on the back.

"Amazing," James agreed.

Peter couldn't stop smiling that night. He may have not made the right decision that day in Adair's class, but he was sure he'd made the right decision today. The slight strain in his friendship he'd started to feel between him and his roommates had disappeared and he felt confident that he had solidified his place in the group for now.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please take the time to let me know what you think! **

**I also want to make clear that Ally is a third year, not a fourth year, even though she's Darien's friend (who is a fourth year). So there is only one year of an age difference between Sirius and Ally. Also the kiss between them was very innocent and I have no intention of making Sirius into a player.**

**For updates and review responses for those reviewers who did not sign-in please visit my profile!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters, places, spells, and enchantments are not mine.**

**A/N: This chapter is about nineteen pages typed in Word, so it's another long chapter. Enjoy!**

It was their last night all together before Holiday break. James had already finished placing his last few belongings he needed into an overnight bag. He didn't want to lug his entire trunk back home, especially since he had enough cloaks and other clothes in his bedroom closet. He made sure he had his broom, the mirror from Peter, and some textbooks because as always the teachers didn't feel they were doing their job unless they assigned some homework.

Peter had taken the opposite approach; stuffing all his non-school robes into a bag which turned out wasn't large enough to hold it all in addition to his books. Peter ended up having to bring his entire trunk home.

Sirius had so far ignored the fact that he should start packing. Sirius had also stayed out of any break talk amongst their classmates. Unfortunately ignoring the inevitable, would not stop it from happening.

"Want to come to the kitchens with me?" James asked Remus who was engrossed in a book.

"Sure," Remus replied looking surprised at the offer.

Peter was taking a shower and Sirius they found entertaining Ally and two of her friends. He had all the girls' rapt attention, talking animatedly and waving his arms about. Whatever tale he was spinning must have been humorous because they all burst out giggling madly.

"Should we ask Sirius if he wants to come?" Remus asked.

"Nah…I'll bring him a bottle of pumpkin juice." James had been hoping to discuss Sirius with Remus and alleviate his worry about Sirius returning home. They exited the common room. The holiday spirit was in the air, even the Fat Lady was humming a popular Christmas carol.

"I'm worried-" James began, but he was cut off.

"You blokes trying to sneak somewhere without me?" Sirius called his head peaking out of the Portrait Hole.

"Blast it! He caught us Remus," James responded looking dejected.

"We'd thought you'd get the hint we didn't like you," Remus added solemnly.

Sirius had caught up to their spot in the hallway. "Well you're stuck with me now. Where're you going anyway?"

"Kitchens," James responded as they began to walk again.

"And Peter's not with you?" Sirius looked shocked by the question.

"Be nice. He's in the shower," Remus answered, but it was obvious he was trying to contain his laughter.

Though the subject that James had wanted to discuss was present, James wasn't about to abandon it.

"My parents for once aren't hosting the annual Potter family," James started. He wanted to least broach the Holiday break subject before directly asking Sirius anything.

"Who is then?" Remus asked.

"Frederick's parents. I should be allowed to bring friends. I know you can't come Sirius, but you'll be here all alone Remus. I believe all you need is to have your parents contact Dumbledore…"

"I'll think about it…" Remus looked away as he answered. James wasn't sure why the subject of Remus visiting his house always made Remus uncomfortable.

"The food will be worth it," James said and when that didn't perk Remus's interest. "It won't be healthy for you to be all alone for so long."

"I won't be the only one at Hogwarts. I'll be fine. Really."

"Remus is just waiting for an invitation to the Black family Christmas party," Sirius cut in with a smirk, "Admit it, Remus. The Potter's would be _too _boring for you."

"Your family also has a Christmas party each year?" James asked in surprise.

"Some pureblood family will…and the Black's must be in attendance to maintain social status."

"Just the type of people that will open up their doors for a half-blood…" Remus finished dryly, "I appreciate both your offers, but Professor Dumbledore and some of the staff always sit down for a Christmas Eve meal and that will be fine. I'm not used to extravagant parties anyway."

"Ok…" James relented, not completely convinced Remus would be fine. "So Sirius, are you all packed?"

"Not yet…" Sirius muttered.

"You should probably get on that…"

"I will. _Thanks_, mum."

"You don't seem very…" James didn't finish the sentence, faltering because he didn't want to sound too interfering.

"Excited?" Sirius offered gruffly. He smashed his hands roughly into his pockets of his robe. His motions were stiff and he kept his gaze forward.

"Yes," James said quietly.

"So what if I'm not – excited? My feelings on the matter are not important." Sirius had unconsciously picked up his pace, his words curt and definite.

"What if you just missed the train?"

"Missed the train?" Sirius echoed.

"James, I don't think Sirius should…"

James ignored Remus's interruption. This was no time to worry about obeying rules. "Slept late or forgot something important and had to double back to the room and all you saw were the carriages vanishing from sight."

Remus was frowning, sending a clear message about what he felt about the suggestion.

Sirius sighed. "They'd just come to the school and drag me home by my ears. This way is easier."

"Ah, but you have to admit the other way has more style."

"You're crazy," Sirius laughed. They were now at the portrait of the fruit bowl and Sirius tickled the pear. "I can't disobey a direct order…the repercussions…anyway lads what I want most is to enjoy tonight, so lets stay off any _serious _topics."

Sirius paused and repeated, "Serious topics!" His bark-like laughter filled the hallway and it sounded so genuine that James willed himself to believe that Sirius would be fine and that he had worried for nothing. "Get it? _Sirius _topics."

If they had known at the time how old that name joke would become, perhaps James and Remus would not have joined in laughing.

* * *

It wasn't until morning that Sirius packed; if you could even call what he did packing. He threw his books and one of his heavier cloaks into a satchel and placed the mirror in his robe pocket.

"That's all you're taking?" Peter asked.

"Yes, Peter," Sirius replied looking disdainfully at Peter's large trunk. "Do you think you forgot anything?"

Poor Peter didn't catch his sarcasm and began looking around the room in worry. A Prefect knocked on their door reminding them to make sure the luggage being brought home was tagged and to be down in the Great Hall in fifteen minutes.

James felt terrible about leaving Remus especially since he was looking peaky. There was obviously nothing to be done about it now, so they all said goodbye and wished him a 'Happy Christmas'.

At least Remus had promised to give considerable thought to going with James to his cousin's Christmas party. He was convinced Remus would be lonelier than he realized.

At the Great Hall, Bellatrix approached where they stood a few feet from the other Gryffindors.

"Sirius, have you seen Andromeda? She's been avoiding me."

"Imagine that," Sirius muttered under his breath.

"Well if you see her, tell her we're all going to your house today."

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "My house? Why?"

Bellatrix answered his question by laughing in a menacing way. "I suppose you'll be sitting with the blood traitor and the fat lump on the train?"

The moment Bellatrix had appeared James had discreetly grabbed hold of his wand and now he closed on it tightly, ready to use it; even with all the teachers everywhere watching the students distrustfully.

"Shut it!"

"Relax. I just wanted to offer you a seat in my compartment. Thought it might help your situation at home." Sirius didn't answer, but his fierce gaze said enough.

"No then? Shame."

Bellatrix left joining the Slytherins who all laughed mockingly in their direction.

James admitted he was surprised by Sirius's upbeat-ness all morning. That quickly changed when he became noticeably quieter and withdrawn during the carriage ride to the train station. Peter, on the other hand, wouldn't stop talking. James had never heard him string so many words together and instead of keeping James occupied it served only to annoy James and magnify Sirius's silence. Luckily at one point Darien stopped in for a chat. Darien had been sending hints to his parents since he made the Quidditch team to buy him a new broom. So they spent awhile discussing the positives and negatives of different broom models.

The train stopped and as the students piled out, Bellatrix appeared and grabbed Sirius before any of them could say a proper goodbye. The only thing that kept James from running after them was that he had the mirrors to check up on Sirius's well being. Alone now with Peter, James tracked down his luggage and helped Peter get his large trunk. He had to wait for the crowd to thin before being able to spot his mother, who was talking to Victoria's mother.

"Do you see your parents yet?" James asked Peter, who shook his head. "Come over with me to mine, until you spot them."

Victoria was already talking non-stop to Rosemary Potter and her mother. "Hello, James! Hello, Peter!" Victoria exclaimed, "Hogwarts is soooo great! I can't wait to go back."

James allowed his mother to give him a quick hug only because it had been so long since she had seen him. His mother even greeted Peter warmly having remembered meeting him at Hogsmeade over the summer.

"Will you be coming to visit us, Peter?" Rosemary Potter asked. James's parents were always up for entertaining folks. They enjoyed people.

"I hope so, Mrs. Potter…I'll check with my parents."

She turned to her only son. "Your friend, Sirius will still be joining us, right dear?"

"Yes, mum." Though in the back of his mind he realized so many things could still prevent Sirius from ever entering the Potter's manor. All he could hope was that his parents would not take it personally if Sirius was unable to visit.

"Sirius!" Victoria piped and turned conspiratorially to the older woman, "He's very handsome!"

"Well that isn't that big a surprise…no one can deny the Black's aren't a handsome family," Victoria's mother answered and concern washed over her face, "I didn't realize James was friends with the Black's son."

"I am! And he's my best mate," James answered his tone clearly indicating that no one say anything negative about the Black family at the moment. The part about Sirius being his _best _mate had just sort of popped out. James glanced at Peter who didn't look concerned, just very, very interested in the crowd.

"James Potter!" Rosemary Potter reprehended, "There's no need to be disrespectful."

James was not sorry at all. He was fed up as it was with having to explain his friendship to his own parents. He most certainly did not feel it was any of Mrs. Dekker's business who he was friends with. His mother apparently disagreed with him because she whispered some sort of explanation to the woman.

"I don't see my parents anywhere." Peter's voice slightly wavered bringing all their attention to him and safely away from Sirius.

"We'll wait with you until they show Peter," Rosemary Potter said kindly and Peter reddened slightly. The Dekker's left with Victoria promising James she would owl him later. Almost everyone had left by then and James was beginning to shiver from the cold. He was about to ask his mother to perform a warming charm, no matter how childish that was when a tall, thin woman dressed in bright orange robes, complete with an orange hat that had three live orange flowers attached to it.

"Peter! Peter! Heaven's there you are."

"Do you know her?" James whispered.

"She's – she's my Aunt, but my mum was supposed to pick me up."

"Terrible, terrible, oh you poor boy," she bustled over straight at Peter giving him a hug. Peter squirmed out of her grasp gasping for breath.

"Hello, I'm Rosemary Potter. James's mother. Peter and James are housemates."

"Oh, yes. Pleasure. I'm Peter's Aunt, Sophia," she extend her hand and James could see her fingernails were also bright orange. "Your parent's are in the hospital. The baby had a terrible fever, which is very worrisome, I'll say. You'll be sleeping over my house. I've cleaned out the guest room for you. It should only smell slightly of birds."

"They aren't coming home?"

"I doubt tonight, Peter. Your sister is very sick. You can visit tomorrow, but we all thought it was best you weren't around to bother your parents. Now let's get on, the food will be getting cold on the table and I loath reheated food."

"Bye, James," Peter called forlornly. Peter's Aunt picked up his trunk easily as if it weighed no more than a feather.

"Was I ever sick as a baby?" James asked his mother as they headed to the Muggle car the Ministry had obviously provided.

"No, James. It's highly unusual for a wizard infant to contract more than a sniffle. There are very few diseases that infant's natural magical defenses can't stop. It's not a good sign that a baby that age is so sick, but let's not worry needlessly. Are you hungry? The house-elf prepared all your favorite foods."

James smiled, but his warm feeling only stayed at the surface. With Sirius forced to go home to his evil parents, Peter's baby sister sick and Remus alone at Hogwarts, it appeared only James was going to find any enjoyment this holiday.

* * *

Sirius wished the day would end already. It had logged on and on forever. He felt bad for ignoring James on the train ride, but he couldn't bring himself to make small talk. The moment Sirius had stepped off the train; his cousin had materialized urging him away from his mates, so quickly that there wasn't anytime for goodbyes. The weight of the two-way mirror in his pocket was a small source of comfort.

A Muggle car was waiting for them running and inside his mother sat waiting, dressed entirely in black down to her scarf and gloves. She was frowning at her surroundings, her nose wrinkled as if she had smelled something rotten. Bellatrix shoved him beside Andromeda, who smiled sadly. The moment Bella shut the door, Mrs. Black was ordering instructions at the driver and they zoomed off in a much faster pace than the contraption was ever designed for.

"Stupid fools at the Ministry…having problems with the floo network the day Hogwarts is on break. Forcing us to use filthy Muggle inventions to get around."

Sirius did not expect his arrival at Grimmauld Place to be pleasant. He was not disappointed. The moment they stepped into the dark hall his mother started shouting and did not appear to want to stop shouting in the near future. It disoriented him and worried him at the same time.

"Stand up straight! Stop gaping at me! Your hair's grown too long! Don't tap your foot!"

After more ranting Andromeda and Bellatrix were instructed to go straight to the drawing room, while Sirius was sent to his room. Nothing strange with that instruction, but deep down he could tell something strange was going on. In his room Sirius took his mirror out and promptly hid it under his mattress. Only Kreacher would ever check under there and there was no reason for a hand mirror to look suspicious. It was at least safer than keeping it in his school robes.

Walburga Black opened the door to her son's room. At least she had stopped yelling for the moment. "Sirius, listen to me carefully. You will shower quickly, change into robes I have picked out, and then we will go down to your Father's study. You will be polite, courteous, and only speak when addressed. Frankly there should be no reason for you to speak at all."

"What's this for?" Sirius asked. He should have known he wouldn't get an answer with such a direct question.

"I don't know what has gotten into you. I have taught you better manners. All you do lately is question authority, it's no wonder I get detention notice owled to me every week. And don't think we haven't noticed that Potter brat's name is usually listed as an accomplice."

"Professor Adair has it in for me…"

"Talking without being addressed once again, Sirius. You will learn to obey that rule over the holiday, even if it kills you. I'll be back up here in twelve minutes, you better be presentable. And before I forget, hand me your wand."

"Yes, mother," Sirius muttered. He hated having to give up his wand, but he dared not complain. He was already being reprehended and he needed to keep his behavior in check if he had any hope of seeing any of his friends before school started up again.

Right on the dot, without knocking Sirius's mother entered the room just as he was buttoning the last silver clasp on his robe. His mother surveyed him silently and she actually permitted herself to smile slightly. "At least you look presentable. Follow me quickly now!"

Sirius had to jog in order to keep up with his mother's pace. They passed the drawing room where Regulus, Andromeda, and Bellatrix sat; all with their hands neatly clasped and backs stiff. Mrs. Black continued with her hurried pace straight to her husband's office. Sirius could hear multiple voices in the study and before he could give that anymore thought, his mother had shoved him through the door. Sirius tried to steady himself, but he ended up still stumbling into the room. It was not exactly the proper entrance of a pureblood heir.

He would have gasped out loud if it wasn't for his mother's firm grip on his shoulder. The room was filled with his aunts, uncles and even some cousins. It was rare to see such a large gathering of Black's at a non-celebratory function. Orion Black sat at this desk. It was clear he was head of the family and in charge. Sirius realized with a jolt that one day he would occupy the same spot. He couldn't imagine himself sitting so stiffly and holding his composure, using only words to express his point of view, keeping facial expressions and body language at a minimum.

His mother coughed behind him and Sirius realized he should have bowed about twenty-two seconds ago. He wasn't in the position to be defiant in any way, so Sirius bowed to his father as custom and to his left and right in acknowledgment of his elder family members.

Mr. Black motioned for his son to come deeper into the room. As Sirius obeyed he could already feel the clutches of family honor take hold. The truth was that it was much easier to be disobedient at Hogwarts, miles and miles away from family consequences.

"About time the heir showed up," a gruff voice of a large man Sirius vaguely recognized complained, "I don't have all day."

"Please, as if you do anything other than gamble away the family fortune," a younger man accused mockingly.

Next to the young man stood someone Sirius was surprised to see; his Uncle Alphard. The importance of this gathering grew in Sirius's mind; only something like that would convince his Uncle Alphard to get himself involved in family politics. Perhaps he had at least one ally in the group. He couldn't help, but notice how members of his family either plainly ignored his presence or threw him disdainful, distrustful glances. These were the same people who when he was younger used to shower him with gifts and attention, ignoring his younger brother, only because he was the family heir.

"As some of you are aware and as you all will be in a moment, the Black family is in a very pure, elite organization, and has been since it was first formed, of the name, _Profecto Purus_. I have been requested to bring the Black heir to the next meeting. I didn't find this a problem, until Cygnus Black, expressed his concern. He has requested a meeting to discuss if Sirius is suitable for such a position."

"Is the boy not to young?" Aunt Druella, Bella's mother asked, "I would suspect members need to be at least seventeen."

"There is no age requirement, but you are correct usually induction is at age seventeen," Mr. Black stated patiently, "This is not an induction meeting – only a first meeting with possible future candidates."

"Are there any requirements?" Cygnus Black, Bella's father, further questioned. His voice had an aristocratic quality, well-oiled, proper and bored.

"Yes, two. Pure blood and direct heir to the family you represent. Sirius fulfills both requirements."

"Those might be their requirements, but what of the more important points about your son that you are sweeping under the rug? What of his nature? He is hardly a model child. He's caused you behavioral difficulties his whole life. And the moment he stepped into Hogwarts he's caused irreversible damage to the family and to my daughters, who are all proper purebloods and had been carrying the Black name proudly." His Uncle turned pointing his finger at Sirius, "He is barely fit to attend a formal party and certainly not ready to face the purest elitist members of our race. Do you want a boy like that representing this family?"

His Uncle's words stung Sirius. No wonder Bellatrix was so awful to him if this was what she heard about him at home. Did every member of his family think of him like that? His mother and father had told him how his actions had affected the family name, but he never had fully believed it. Clearly though his relatives were holding him solely responsible for their fall from top status. It was silly. He was one Black.

"He's an embarrassment!" Aunt Lucretia exclaimed wrinkling her nose.

Arguments began to swirl around him – every word was spoken as if he wasn't there.

"Traitor to the bloodline!" Uncle Ignatius boomed.

No one held back because of possibly hurting his feelings. Sirius could barely keep up with what they were saying.

"…considers himself a proud, loyal Gryffindor. He cares more for his house loyalties than his family obligations…."

No stone in his life was left unturned as his twelve years of actions and choices were scrutinized. They brought up his detention records, his choice of friends, his disregard for rules and authority, and even the fact Regulus now wore the family ring with the family crest on it.

"He'll be the ruin of this family! The Black empire will crumble, will be destroyed because of a mixed up twelve year old."

Orion Black stayed quite calm through this assault. While Walburga looked ready to pounce on the next person who said something negative, even though if they had been alone she would have agreed if not said herself those biting words.

Mr. Black stood up. He waited until the room had quieted. "Sirius, has made many selfish decisions. No one will argue that, but he is only twelve. He is still at an impressionable age and I believe he can still be swayed. Are we to give up because a child is being a bit rebellious? I think the Black name can withstand this slight problem. Sirius may be mixed up, but he is still obedient."

"Obedient?" Cygnus Black laughed dryly, "Forgive me, but did Sirius not directly disobey your orders to be resorted into Slytherin? You cannot fault us for being wary of your claim of being able to control your son."

"What alternative do you suggest?" Alphard Black spoke loudly. "What of the consequence of going to the meeting without the heir? Sirius is our heir regardless of his choices and anyone's feelings. _Profecto Purus _will consider Sirius a child and thus judge his actions accordingly. If we allow other family's to see how this _problem _is causing our family to crumble, it is but our own fault when they treat us differently. The Black's need to stand strong, stand together, and show we still have faith in our bloodline. I am surprised you have so little faith in what the Black's have accomplished over the centuries that one little blunder will be our undoing. Let Sirius got to this meeting, it will only be beneficial to him and to the family. Cygnus, you are just wasting all our time because of envy. Envy that you were unable to produce any male heirs."

"How dare you?!" Aunt Druella exclaimed, "My daughters have done more for this family than either of the two male heirs!"

Murmurs filled the room. Most family members looked shocked and scandalized.

"So do I have the family's blessing to bring Sirius along?" Mr. Black asked after a few moments of complete silence.

"I reiterate that Sirius will be our downfall." Cygnus stared around the room and finally relented, "But I will not stand in your way.

"Thank you."

Aunt Druella and Uncle Cygnus were the first to leave. After that there was no more argument and Sirius's mother told family members to retire to the drawing room for tea.

The Black family had still given Sirius their blessing and that was that. All those harsh and unforgiving words had simply been forgotten as if they had never been spoken.

Sirius was excused to leave. As he closed the door he heard his mother and father whispering. He couldn't bring himself to even care what they were saying. His life was right now in their hands. His parents had not ordered him to join his family in the drawing room, so he walked past it quickly toward his room. It may have been a prison over the summer, but now it was a needed sanctuary. He had placed his foot on the first step –

"Sirius."

He turned quickly, his stomach already twisting in knots when he realized it was only his Uncle Alphard.

"Uncle Alphard! I was surprised to see you here."

"Good thing too. That meeting would have gone forever, and we all knew the outcome. Your father was going to take you. He did not need the family blessing; your father was only trying to placate his brother-in-law."

"So you want me to go?"

"Sirius, you will one day be head of this family. It is a fact you have to come to terms with. You need to learn to be able to deal with these types of people…"

He began to protest.

"I also will sleep better knowing perhaps there will be one person in that powerful pureblood organization that has some morals."

"You mean me?"

"Yes. You are young, but you will learn that sometimes you can make more waves and more changes subtlety. All your little rebellious acts, staying in Gryffindor, detentions, befriending Potter…just will make people angry, but will not change your parent's mind or anyone's elses about muggles and mudbloods."

"Can I go up to bed then?" Sirius asked quietly. When had his wishes to stay in Gryffindor and be allowed to be friends with who he wanted turned into a war against blood purist philosophies?

"Should you not be downstairs socializing? I am sure that is what your parents would want. And that is another thing you must learn. Do not let your dislike of people, especially your family be so apparent."

"I'm going up," Sirius answered defiantly feeling like his Uncle had betrayed him. "If my parents request my presence, they can come and get me."

Sirius ran up the remaining stairs. The silence that followed was positive; at least his Uncle wasn't following him up and forcing him downstairs.

In his room, Sirius found the mirror and spoke 'James' clearly into the mirror. No one answered, even after he tried a few times. He fell asleep with the mirror still in his hand.

* * *

Remus walked behind Professor McGonagall to the Whomping Willow. He was beginning to hate the tree as much as he hated the moon. They were both signs and reminders of his transformations. Madam Pomfrey had gone home for a few days and McGonagall acted very differently from what he had grown accustomed to. Madam Pomfrey had always fussed over him and as much as it had always irked him, now that she wasn't there, he found he missed it. The fussing had comforted and calmed him. He couldn't really blame Professor McGonagall, his own parents always went through the needed full moon precautions mechanically. And he knew why, they were frightened of him.

Professor McGonagall froze the tree. "Go on, Mr. Lupin."

Remus hurried through the opening and glanced back to see McGonagall gazing at him with a lost expression. He realized she hadn't meant to be cold; perhaps she didn't know the proper way to act around him. He braved a smile and continued down the tunnel. He'd never been comfortable in enclosed spaces, but he had been forced to swallow that fear his first full moon at Hogwarts.

Inside the Shrieking Shack, Remus took a seat on one of the tattered couches. He still remembered waking up that first night horrified by the damage the werewolf had inflicted on the furniture. The furniture had been musty and old to begin with, but it had certainly been intact.

He now had nothing to do, but wait for the sky to darken and the moon to rise. Remus remembered reading a children's story one time that described the moon as beautiful and romantic; he had never opened up that book again.

Remus took his clothes off, placing them with his wand under a loose plank. It would magically seal when he transformed. He turned his back to the window not wanting to gaze for a moment at the offending object in the sky. Goosebumps covered his arms and legs as moonlight filtered through the slits from the boarded windows. He shivered part in apprehension and part because of the chill in the air. He closed his eyes momentarily, praying that this time it would be less painful. Remus did this ritual every full moon even though so far his prayers had not been answered.

Then the changes began. He could feel the inner wolf charge out of him… taking control of his body….his bones creaked…muscles strained….it was all too much to handle, so he howled out in pain…

"Keep up with me, Sirius!"

Startled out of his thoughts, Sirius saw that his father was ahead of him by a good ten feet. Picking up his pace, he almost tripped. His mother would not be happy to see his new purple robes ripped or tattered. His father also wore the same robe, identical down to the delicate silver thread decoration. No one had told him where they were going, but Sirius could safely assume they were going to _the meeting_.

He also had no idea where they were. They could have left England or even Europe for all he knew. Since the portkey had brought them to this forestry area, all Sirius had seen for the longest time was dense trees. Now finally the trees had thinned, the path had steepened and the terrain had grown rockier.

Sirius had been thinking about his brother waking him up that morning It had been bad luck that of all days his mother have Regulus wake him Sirius had left the mirror out. And unfortunately Regulus had noticed the mirror. Not that Regulus knew what it was for or that it was significant, yet the fact he knew of its existence was troubling.

The wind whistled around them and Sirius was once again thankful for the warm over-cloak his mother had insisted he wear over the heavy purple robes. Even still the cold was almost unbearable and unforgiving, biting nastily at any exposed flesh. The snow covered ground steepened for the last time and a large cave loomed in the distance.

"Put you hood on."

Sirius took in the details of the outside of the cave carefully. Was this really the destination? Moss and ferns grew on top of the cave and other boulders and large rocks littered the area.

Mr. Black gripped Sirius's shoulder with painful pressure.

"Remember your manners. Remember who you are. And Merlin, do not speak without my permission."

"Yes, sir." His father let go and Sirius waited until his father's attention was on the entrance to rub his shoulder. Mr. Black was carefully examining a manmade grey cylinder. He nodded to himself slipping out of his pocket not his wand, but a pocket knife, slicing one of his fingers. Watching in slight shock, Sirius saw his father press the bleeding finger forcefully on the cylinder and it turned a deep royal red. Mr. Black crossed the entrance quickly, chucking the knife at Sirius who barely managed to catch it.

"Go on."

Apprehensively opening up the knife and Sirius nicked his finger without another thought. He wanted to get this all over as quickly as possible. He pressed his throbbing finger on the cool rock and it turned the same shade of red as before. He walked across the entrance to see his father smiling slightly.

"You've passed the first test, son. Blood purity. No one with tainted blood would ever be able to gain entrance into this cave. You're in for a treat. Few wizards ever see the headquarters of _Profectus Purus_."

They walked deeper into the cave. The temperature around them grew warmer and placed conveniently on the side wall was a cloak rack already holding an array of heavy winter cloaks. Sirius and his father added their cloaks to the rack and continued down the cave, the walls considerably narrowing. The cave path suddenly turned and went downward steeply. Wooden stairs had been constructed, though the way they squeaked and creaked under foot; Sirius didn't think they'd hold much longer. The narrow passageway led to a large carpeted room. A beautiful carefully carved wooden podium was placed at the back of the room and behind it hung on the walls various wizard family trees. Around the podium in a semi-circle were stone marble chairs. Wizards all wearing the same purple robes as Sirius and his father sat quietly, very few even whispering to a seated neighbor Sirius was pleasantly surprised to find the stone chairs comfortable and cushioned.

One of the purple robed wizards stood up, a silver sash hanging around his neck signifying his leadership. This wizard began the meeting by taking his hood off and half the members followed. Orion Black hissed to his son to keep his hood firmly on at all times.

The topics did not hold Sirius's interest for long and soon he began to study the room. The lightening in the room was dim and it was hard to identify any of the wizards, even the ones that were no longer hooded.

"Honored guests, I am about to introduce to you a _wizard _of vision. You are the first besides a few of his closest supporters to hear him speak. He goes by the name of Lord Voldemort and soon every wizard and witch will fear his name."

There was a series of loud noises as the torches on the side walls became lit casting an ominous glow. As Sirius turned back from watching the flames, he now saw a tall figure standing in front of the podium. The man was tall and wearing a silky hooded black robe. There was nothing physically attention-grabbing about him except on one of his sickly pale hands he wore a ring with a heavy black stone. The wizard moved his arms in a welcoming gesture and suddenly Sirius had an unexplainable fear of this man's power and strength.

"Good afternoon friends…brothers. It is a pleasure speaking to the purest bloodlines of our kind. I do not think I have to tell you that the pure wizard race is in trouble. BUT, it is not too late to stop it. Rumors have been circulating of an uprising – a dark uprising; they are true. Our way of life is being destroyed and our old traditions are being pushed aside." The speaker paced the area near the podium and he clasped his fist to emphasize his point. "Hogwarts now admits anyone with the faintest drop of magic in their blood. Curriculum deems the dark arts are an inappropriate subject. Do not your sons and daughters have a right to pursue any branch of magic they please? The mudbloods in the Ministry are trying to force laws through that protect muggles as well as _their _kind – while ignoring the important problems, such as our great loss of magical land and airspace. Hogsmeade is the only all magical village in all of England, but does the Ministry care? No! Being a pureblood used to have meaning – now mudbloods think themselves equal to us. The filthy mudblood scum will not stop at just tainting our bloodlines; they will take our jobs, take away our power and attack everything we prize. We need to drive them away! Instill fear back into their minds. Rid the schools and Ministry of their grime! I cannot do this alone. I need your support and we must act quickly. For now I ask you not to speak of me to those outside this room…only speak about what I represent and seek. It will be you and your sons who carry out this visionary future and it will be your families who will be honored above all when this is all over."

Ever soul in the room was memorized by the lone wizard's words. It was as if spell had been cast over them all, bringing new and powerful meaning to the mundane words. Even Sirius felt moved. Even Sirius wanted to stand up and _do _something for the cause. In the back of his mind though, through the hazy fog of the hypnotizing words, Sirius still understood the underlying message loud and clear. This man, this _Lord _Voldie-something, wanted to wipe the earth of Muggleborns and quite possible half-bloods. Sirius was friendly with people in both categories. No one else in the room looked concerned about the implications of the speech. The more he thought about it, the sicker Sirius began to feel. The rest of the audience were simply too infatuated with the idea of purifying and cleansing the wizard race to worry about how it was actually going to be done.

"Ah, but a moment if you will." The room silenced once more, all eyes back on the wizard in front of the room. Sirius watched the man in apprehension.

"Not everyone in this room is with me."

Faces turned looking suspiciously around, casting wary silent glances around. Wondering if a neighbor was an auror, perhaps?

Only one person in the room really had anything to worry about though.

Sirius tried to stay calm yet terrible thoughts keep turning in his mind. Only in his worst nightmares would this insane wizard be referring to him. He'd done nothing at all to bring attention to himself. Sirius was just a nameless pureblood heir. Yet regardless of these facts, Sirius could not ignore the wizard now standing in front of him.

With the 'Lord' so close Sirius noticed for the first time that his eyes had an unnatural reddish glow.

Orion Black sprang to his feet bowing slightly. Sirius could barely believe what he was seeing. His father never acted submissive to anyone!

"Forgive him, my Lord. My son is young and foolish. He does not mean to offend you. His housemates have fed him many lies…"

"Not Slytherin, then?" Sirius grimaced, waiting for the scornful glance. It never came, the voice had not been dismissive merely curious and interested.

"Regrettable, no."

"And what could Gryffindor possibly offer the Black heir that Slytherin could not?"

This 'Lord' must have known who he was and he was toying with him. Angry thoughts whirled through his mind and Sirius opened his mouth to retort yet no sound came out. Orion Black had cast a silencing charm on Sirius a few seconds before.

A strange sensation came over Sirius and suddenly the 'Lord' was laughing. It was an awful menacing laugh that there was no escape from.

"Friendship. Is that it?"

Sirius gaped at the wizard; eyes widening in surprise. How could he possible know that?

"My Lord…do not let him bother you…" Orion Black implored.

"Our side can offer this boy more power, glory and wealth than even his wildest dreams. Friendship will not hold against such an offer. The boy is no threat!"

And that was that. The 'Lord' turned away not giving Sirius a second glance. The supposedly irrevocable damage he had inflicted on the Black name had been completely dismissed; this wizard 'Lord' had more important things to concern himself with.

The 'Lord's last words to them all were, "May your bloodlines stay pure!" The man was encased in angry fiery flames and when the flames extinguished themselves, he had vanished. The meeting was over and Sirius stood when his father stood and nodded respectively to other members when his father nodded.

A few though stopped to say a few words and each time his father sent him a warning glance. Not that it was needed because Sirius could still not speak.

"How is your family?" Mr. Black asked a wizard from the distinguished Yaxley family.

"In good health," the man replied his eyes boring into Sirius. His son stood behind him smirking openly. The boy was hooded, but Sirius recognized him from Slytherin. "Shame about your son."

Orion Black stiffened. "It's the bloody Potters. They've always been meddlesome fools. Now their heir is directly responsible for poisoning my son's mind."

"Best be careful. Not that I don't agree with you, but the Potter's are well-liked. It would be best not to enact revenge until we have more supporters."

"Obviously. So you think this Lord is on to something?"

"We will see."

By the time they left the cave, it had grown dark outside. They had only the light of his father's wand to lead them along the path. At the point where they could use the portkey to get back home, Mr. Black stopped to address his son.

"Do not even think of telling the Potter brat anything. You will find yourself unable to speak to anyone other than an inducted member about anything concerning the meeting."

Sirius nodded. "Who was that man, father?" He was surprised to find his voice had been restored.

"Interested are you? Well he certainly took more notice in you than I would have liked."

"How do you know he is even really a _lord_?" It still startled him to remember his father who constantly spouted how noble and important the Blacks were had bowed down to this stranger.

"That is a stupid question, Sirius. Wizards do not go around claiming they are lords unless they are."

Dinner was waiting on the dinner table when they returned. Regulus pestered him with questions as they washed their hands in the upstairs bathroom.

"I can't talk about it with you!" Sirius answered cherishing the look of fury in his brother's face, "So stop asking! You're too young anyway to understand!"

"I'll be in Hogwarts next year. Then father will take me too!" Regulus cried out before stomping downstairs. It was too easy goading his brother sometimes.

Sirius found himself even enjoying dinner. The food was tasty and he was very hungry. He wondered when he could broach the subject of visiting Peter with his parents. As Sirius placed a tasty piece of chicken, he felt a vibration in his pocket. It was the mirror!

"May I use the bathroom, mother?" Sirius leapt to his feet the moment his mother gave him permission. He hoped he didn't look too eager. Locking the door hastily behind him, he gingerly took the mirror out.

"James?"

**A/N: Thanks for reading and please take the time to review. I enjoy reading people's thoughts and numerous reviews are always a big incentive to write more quickly!**

**Just on a side note,_ Profecto Purus _means 'truly pure' in Latin, I thought that name would fit for the group. **

**A lot of readers were asking about when they would learn about Remus's secret and it will be happening very soon after their return back to school. The next chapter will still take place during Christmas break, with possibly them returning at the end of it. **

**P.S. Did everyone see the trailer for OotP? I can't wait to see Snape's Worst Memory on screen and hopefully they won't botch that up too terribly. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, places, spells, houses, etc**

**A/N: I didn't think I could get another update out before the New Year, but I'm proud to say I did. I didn't have a chance to re-read this chapter over as many times as I usually do to check for errors, so I apologize for any. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

James was on a mission. Even though it was nearly midnight, he was wide awake. He paused for a moment before stepping out of his room. His house had turned into a hotel the past few days – Frederick was staying over, some distant cousin was coming tomorrow, and Peter had arrived two days ago.

Rosemary Potter had been visiting an ill friend in St. Mungos when she ran into the Pettigrew's. The baby was still sick and when they began talking, Mrs. Potter had invited Peter to stay over for a few nights. Normally James would have been glad of the company; however, if Peter was at his house, Sirius could not 'pretend' to visit Peter. Though James tended to be a glass-half full type (instead of half-empty), he was really starting to believe that his friendship with Sirius was riddled with bad luck. Peter had also insisted that even when he returned home or back to his Aunt's there was no way he'd be allowed to have any guests, even if only for a few moments.

Peter was driving James slowly crazy. Peter was very easily impressed and excitable; he went on and on about how large the Potter manor was, about all the toys James had accumulated, the fact they owned a house-elf, and even the size of their yard. At least James had the foresight to mention to his parents about giving Peter his own guest room. It was nice to at least have some solitude at night. At the least it made what he was planning now a lot easier.

Operation Plan B. Through snatches of conversations here and there through the mirror, Sirius had mentioned his parents were going to a Christmas party and most importantly an _all adult _Christmas party. When Sirius had told James he had convinced his parents to leave him and his brother at home, they were able to start formulating a plan.

Sirius was close to a hundred percent sure that the floo network was working in his house. It would be his form of transportation to the Potters. All he had to do was ditch his brother and the house-elf. Sirius was confident his brother could easily be tricked, but the house-elf, which had their own different branch of magic, would be harder. And it wasn't as if Sirius even had a wand to use against the house-elf, if he was able to even curse or hex it.

So James had offered his own wand, which was why he was sneaking downstairs with his wand packaged into a narrow box. Sirius had protested the idea, but James had convinced him that it wasn't as if he actually used his wand at home.

James's father was currently borrowing one of the Ministry hawks and unlike owls, the hawk would stay invisible to every person except the intended recipient. He didn't exactly have his father's permission to use the bird, but he wasn't about to let something miniscule as that impede their effort.

He opened the door to his father's study wincing at the creak it made. James spotted the hawk instantly, her eyes shone and she was preening her feathers delicately. The bird eyed him suspiciously, but did not refuse the package when James clumsily tied it to her leg. Before flying off it gave an indignant squawk, it seemed the hawk felt she was more important than being regarded as simply a 'delivery bird'. The moment the hawk flew out the window, it disappeared vanishing into the dark sky. The plan had to work if only for the reason that there was no plan C.

* * *

Regulus waited anxiously for Mrs. Black to return with Sirius. He quelled the guilty feeling rising inside him by repeating to himself that he had done the right thing given all the circumstances. 

He flinched slightly. Even in the downstairs library, he could clearly hear his mother shouting at Sirius from upstairs. The house had certainly grown louder with Sirius's return. His mother apparently felt Sirius would only listen to very loud instructions.

A few excruciating moments later Mrs. Black appeared dragging a resisting Sirius by the scruff of his robes. Sirius looked bewildered and Regulus felt another wave of guilt, this time even stronger than before. These feelings were rather foreign because he'd snitched on his brother before and it wasn't as if Sirius treated him in a friendly manner anymore.

Mrs. Black glowered at her eldest, looking more foreboding than ever before. "Now would be the perfect time to begin confessing," she stated icily.

"Confess what exactly, mother?" Though Sirius could have used a politer tone of voice, it was clear he really didn't understand his mother's meaning. He was not pretending only to be difficult.

Sirius had yet to realize that his plans weren't as secretive as he had thought. Regulus had begun spying on Sirius and at times eavesdropping. It had all been innocent curiosity at first, since no one told him anything anymore. He was sick of hearing the excuse that he was too young.

It was one night when Sirius was in his room that Regulus saw something interesting. Sirius was in his empty bedroom (Regulus had been crouched outside the bedroom door and had seen it empty through the keyhole) yet talking as if he had a friend over. Regulus saw Sirius repeat this strange behavior the next day, and he was beginning to think Sirius was quite mad, when he noticed him talking into a square object. Things became odder when Regulus heard someone responding back to Sirius's chatter. He eventually deduced the voice to be James Potter. The same boy that Regulus had heard his mother blame for Sirius staying in Gryffindor and turning his back on family tradition for a second year.

All this had been worthy of note, but had not pushed Regulus to tattle on his older brother. It was when he overheard them planning for Sirius to sneak out while their parents were away that Regulus had begun to feel troubled by his new knowledge. And when Regulus found out his parents were putting all sorts of guarding spells to alert them if anyone left or entered the house, he knew Sirius would be caught.

Sirius was already knee-deep in trouble for all the things he had done in school. Something like this would tip the iceberg and things would go back to how they'd been in the summer. As awful as that had been for Sirius, Regulus hadn't enjoyed it either.

Sirius hadn't watched their mother rant and rave when she learned Sirius was still in Gryffindor. He hadn't been there when their father had locked himself in his office or seen any of the hurt and damage his actions had caused the family. Regulus had and yet that still wasn't the reason he'd snitched.

Over the summer Regulus had watched his brother's defiance slowly wane on the onslaught of corporal punishment. Many times they had forced Regulus to watch, it served to further humiliate Sirius as well as scare Regulus into not following his brother's footsteps. His parents didn't have to worry though; Regulus couldn't imagine doing any of Sirius's rebellious deeds.

So Regulus was doing this to protect Sirius. He was convinced that if he warned his parents of Sirius's plan, though Sirius would obviously have to be punished, it would be a less severe than if Sirius had been caught in the act.

"I know all about it!" Mrs. Black continued ominously.

Regulus had purposely not been looking at his brother since he had entered. Now his gaze wandered over to him and he watched Sirius pale slightly. Perhaps his brother was starting to guess the subject Mrs. Black was referring to.

Mrs. Black placed a steady hand on Regulus's shoulder. "Your brother told me all about it, Sirius."

Sirius turned his head, his eyes were flashing angrily at his younger brother. It couldn't be helped. Sirius would be angry with him. Sirius already hated him anyway; jealous of the fact he was the favorite even if only on the surface. Regulus only ever received preferential treatment when Sirius was around. Two days ago, Mrs. Black had given him a bar of chocolate from her trip to Hogsmeade, while Sirius had received nothing but a scathing look. He never received extra treats like that when Sirius was away. In addition he'd been haunted by Sirius's rebellion on a daily basis. Most days were very structured with little recreation. Mrs. Black had made a mental list of all the things she had done wrong in raising Sirius and was now correcting the 'mistakes' in raising her other child. Still Sirius was his blood, his brother, and Regulus hoped one day Sirius would realize he'd done this to help him.

"Perhaps this will jog your memory," Mrs. Black held the mirror that Sirius used to talk to Potter. Regulus had found it in the bag Sirius had brought from Hogwarts. He wasn't sure how Sirius used it to communicate, but their mother didn't seem to care about the mechanism.

Sirius gaped at the mirror in Mrs. Black's hand. Before Sirius managed to regain his speech ability, she had let the mirror fall from her grasp and it shattered into hundreds of pieces.

"That was a present!" Sirius cried angrily.

"Perhaps if you had been truthful from the moment you stepped into this room, I would have been more careful."

"How was I to know you were referring to that?" Sirius spat back.

"Dear, dear, Sirius. I wasn't referring to the mirror, but about the other secrets that you have kept from me."

"You control my life. What possibly could you still want to know? Have I forgotten to tell you how often I blink in the span of a minute?"

"You are a liar and a sneak. We know of your plans to sneak out to visit the blood traitor!"

Sirius started silently at his mother for a few moments before speaking in an unusually softer voice. "I know you wouldn't let me go. James's parents invited me and it would have been rude not to show up."

"It was just as rude for the Potters to offer an invitation knowing the animosity between our families. I will do everything in my power to thwart your friendship with that vile brat!"

The argument quickly heated up between Walburga Black and her eldest son. Regulus pretended not to hear the flying words, hoping it would end quickly. Why did Sirius even bother trying to defend his actions? Why couldn't he apologize and take the punishment in stride? Why did he enjoy riling up their mother?

The shouting did abruptly stop, but not in the way Regulus would have hoped. In a deadly voice Mrs. Black spoke, "Sirius, go down to the basement room and remove your shirt."

Sirius had stopped shouting mid-sentence. His face which had been red in anger, turned white quite suddenly. Sirius stood rooted to the spot, his breathing still rapid and out of control.

"Go!"

For a moment, Regulus thought his brother was going to disobey. Regulus let out a silent breath of relief, watching Sirius, though trembling slightly, leave the room. All his work to protect Sirius would have been for nothing, if Sirius had not followed Mrs. Black's orders. The basement door slammed below them.

Mrs. Black stood still as if contemplating something and then smiled at Regulus. "Do not worry my son. You did the right thing."

Walburga walked to her desk and from the top drawer took out the same black whip she had used on Sirius in the summer. Regulus felt his stomach clench and he almost asked his mother not to do this.

"I must do this, Regulus. It is the only way to get through to him."

As much as he hated agreeing with this statement, it did seem to be the only form of punishment that frightened Sirius into behaving.

"Regulus…" For a terrifying moment he thought his mother was going to request he watch and he would not have the heart to argue. "Go to your room, you have the rest of the day to yourself."

Regulus bowed and ran out of the room. His actions may have been cowardly, but he'd rather do pretty much anything than watch Sirius be punished. For the next half an hour, Regulus attempted to enjoy himself, yet his thoughts strayed to the basement and his brother. It was a relief to hear someone walk up the stairs and he jumped off his bed, cracking to door to see Sirius. His brother still had his shirt off and his back was littered with angry welts.

Feeling sick at the sight, Regulus quickly shut the door knowing nothing could be done. In a few hours, their mother would heal Sirius's wounds as she had over the summer. There would not be even the faintest trace of a scar.

* * *

Mr. Potter pushed his reading glasses up to rub his eyes tiredly; his only son stood stoically in front of him. When James had asked to speak to him urgently, he certainly had not expected this line of conversation. It had been a very tiring day at work, even so close to Christmas, there seemed no end to the problems in the Ministry. 

"I'm not sure I understand this. You gave Sirius your wand?"

James stared guiltily at the floor. "I had to!"

"How could you be so careless with your wand?"

It would be impossible for James to explain it all to his father. The excuses he had used in his head while committing the act, didn't sound very reasonable now.

James had been forced to involve his parents when Sirius hadn't shown up at noon as he should have. James had waited as long as he could, but Sirius hadn't even used the mirror to contact him. He was very worried, but at least he didn't have Peter to deal with. He had left in the morning; his baby sister had been released from the hospital today.

"Sirius really needed it. His parents are awful and they wouldn't have allowed him to visit."

Mr. Potter picked his head up quickly and he suddenly understood something very important. "Ah, so Sirius didn't have permission to come over, did he?"

"No…" James answered slowly and threw his hands up in anger. "You don't understand! His family considers us blood traitors! Sirius isn't like that and I really wanted you to meet him."

"Your mother and I were looking forward to meeting him, James, but that doesn't excuse any of this. It is not our right to interfere with his parent's wishes. Did you owl the wand over?"

Coloring slightly, James mumbled, "I used the Ministry bird."

"That was to be strictly used for work!"

"I know it is, but – but the wand would have never gotten to Sirius by regular owl."

"You can't go around breaking rules just because it suites your purpose," Harold Potter smiled softly, "Imagine how chaotic the world would be if everyone went by that philosophy."

"I'm sorry. Will you get in trouble at work?"

"No. We still have the problem of your wand obviously. Sirius hasn't returned any of your owls?"

"No…he hasn't." James hadn't divulged to his father about the mirrors. Letting him falsely think they'd been keeping contact through writing.

"I suppose we'll just have to pay the Black's a visit tomorrow and ask for it back."

"Can I come? Please?"

"I don't know…"

"I want to make sure Sirius is alright. If his parents caught him…I think they might hit him, dad."

"That's a hard accusation…"

"You didn't see him after the summer. I doubt they fed him one decent meal."

"Ok. Ok. You can come."

"And we'll ask to see Sirius?"

"Yes, now off to bed. We'll go straight after breakfast."

Through Harold Potter's various Ministry connections they learned the address of Sirius's house, which few knew.

James was wearing one of his formal robes. His father felt the more properly dressed they were, the politer they'd be received. James followed his father down the walk, surprised that the house looked as uninviting as he'd imagined. The sun shone brightly above, but the rays didn't quite reach Grimmauld Place, as if there was an invisible barrier.

They stepped up to a large black door that looked recently painted with a shiny serpent shaped knocker. It took all of James's courage to stand beside his father, instead of safely behind, as Mr. Potter let the knocker fall with a loud sound.

An evil looking house-self answered the door, throwing them a condescending look the moment he heard the name 'Potter." Mr. Potter didn't pay attention requesting to talk to its master or mistress. The house-elf allowed them into the entrance hall and the house screamed 'Slytherin'. The carpet was a rich evergreen and above them glittered a lit serpent chandelier. James could see a staircase leading to the upper floors.

It was from that staircase that Mrs. Black finally appeared; she walked regally down the stairs. She had kept them waiting longer than what was considered polite.

"Potter, what do I owe the _pleasure _of your visit?" She held her arms in a welcoming gesture, but her tone betrayed the fact that she was not pleased by their appearance.

"I've just learned that our son's have been plotting a get-together…"

"I have already punished, Sirius. It will not happen again, I can assure you."

James could tell his father was startled by the response.

"Well…I know neither one of us is exactly thrilled by this unexpected friendship, but clearly it is holding. I don't see any reason to stand in the way."

"I disagree. Is there another reason why you are here?"

"Yes," Mr. Potter paused, "My son, James sent your son his wand. We are here to fetch it and I thought to allow the boy's some time together."

"Kreacher can fetch your son's wand from Sirius's room," Mrs. Black stated and the house-elf vanished silently. "As for your other request, Sirius is not allowed to have any visitors."

The house-elf returned quickly and James snatched his wand from the gnarled and bandaged hand. He inspected his wand over thoroughly, relieved that it was undamaged. Mrs. Black looked ready to dismiss them and James glanced up at his father hopefully, but he saw his father turn to leave.

"I want to see Sirius," James stated loudly. Sirius's mother looked angry, but James felt a moment of pleasure having finally forced the woman to look at him. Mrs. Black had been pretending that he didn't exist, only speaking and making eye contact with his father.

"You should instruct your son on manners, _Potter_."

"I think, Walburga, it would be in your best interest to let us see Sirius. Rumors of mistreatment have reached my ears and I will go straight to the correct department to have a Ministry official look into your son's welfare."

James swelled with pride to see his father stare down Mrs. Black and once she noticed he would not yield, she snapped, "Regulus bring Sirius here!"

On the stairs, crouched a boy that looked like a younger version of Sirius. The boy jumped to his feet. "Right way, mother." James watched him scurry up the stairs and he waited nervously for his friend's arrival. Maybe he had been worried for nothing; obviously Sirius must be in relatively good health if his mother had yielded so quickly.

* * *

Regulus pushed the door to his brother's room open. Sirius was in the process of his morning chores, making his bed and dusting the few items Sirius was still allowed to have in his room. 

"Mother, wants you downstairs. We have visitors."

"Visitors?"

"You'll like these visitors. Come on! You don't want Mother to be angry with you again!"

Not giving Sirius a chance to argue, Regulus walked out the room. A quick look over his shoulder showed Sirius was following though with some resistance. It would be just like the stupid prat to go against this instruction when his blood traitor friend was waiting in their entrance hall.

Upon seeing James, Sirius ambled down the stairs in excitement, forgetting all the formalities. Regulus hadn't seen Sirius this animated about something in awhile. Regulus carefully walked down the stairs bowing as expected, to show he still knew his manners. Sirius didn't notice because he was grinning stupidly.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius exclaimed. In the Potter's presence Sirius was completely unaffected by Mrs. Black's glowering. Regulus wondered if Sirius had even seen their mother because he was talking to their guests without parental permission.

"I needed my wand!" Potter replied waving it around in demonstration.

"As you can see Potter, Sirius is well."

Hearing his mother's voice, Sirius looked startled. He turned his head slightly to the right of him where she stood.

Mrs. Black took a step toward Sirius. "Perhaps if you disciplined your son properly you wouldn't be here in the first place." Sirius now took a step back from James.

"I discipline my son only when it is necessary," Mr. Potter responded, the frown creases on his forehead deepening.

"I'm finding it _necessary _all the time. Lately only certain methods work, if you get my meaning. Sometimes you just have to _beat _the rebellion out of them."

Sirius shrunk back even more and suddenly he didn't seem entirely happy now to have is blood traitor friend over.

Mr. Potter looked appalled and disgusted. "It is never necessary to use that type of punishment on children!"

"Don't be silly." Mrs. Black now cupped one of her hands around Sirius's face, her long fingernails caressing his cheek. "I'd never do anything to cause permanent harm. He's a very handsome child, is he not?"

Mr. Potter's posture stiffened and he had a peculiar expression on his face that turned to bewilderment and a tinge of pity. Regulus figured that Potter's father probably had been expecting Sirius to be as snotty, snobby and spoiled as the pureblood children he'd met before.

Regulus, on the other hand, was more interested in James Potter. It was the first time he'd been able to get a proper look at the blood traitor. He was not impressed; disappointed really. James was skinny, with messy black hair, and robes, albeit expensive looking did not fit him properly. Was this really the same boy that had been the cause of his brother rebuffing pureblood beliefs? James did not look like the evil villain Regulus's parents painted the Potter's out to be nor did he look like the hero friend Sirius talked about.

James was very ordinary looking for someone with the reputation of wrecking family traditions. Regulus had always had the feeling that his mother was frightened of the Potters because of the way they'd corrupted Sirius's views, but he couldn't really see any significant reason for this. James did not give off an air that was striking or impressive. Regulus was puzzled.

Why would Sirius risk punishment to visit this boy? A boy he'd see in Hogwarts in about a week. Why did Sirius choose to gravitate toward James in the first place and not the proper purebloods that would be in abundance in Slytherin? As much as Regulus stared and tried to dissect the boy he could not find a satisfying answer.

"I suppose we have taken up enough of your time. Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Black. It was good to meet you Sirius and Regulus (Regulus flinched at the sound of his name on the blood traitor's lips) however briefly," Mr. Potter said cordially.

Even as his father opened the door to let himself out, James was still trying to have a silent conversation with Sirius, which wasn't going well as neither could read each others mind. Finally realizing he was out of time, James blurted out, "Are you sure you're ok, Sirius?"

As they had been taught, Sirius turned to his mother to get either permission to answer or have her answer the question for him. Regulus was surprised and James looked hurt and confused by his non-response.

"Come, James," Mr. Potter instructed softly. James didn't move looking determined to get an answer out of his friend. Sirius then made a slight move of his head, but it was unclear to both James and Regulus whether he meant it as a 'yes', 'no' or 'I will be'.

"Bye, Sirius. I'll see you on the train," James called as he turned to follow his father toward the walk.

Mrs. Black slammed the door with a forceful flick of her wand. Sirius didn't look like he noticed the noise because he was staring at the spot James had been standing and it looked as if he was trying to suppress a slight smile.

"You miserable little mongrel! Those filthy blood-traitors defiling our doorstep because of you!"

Regulus watched as his mother cast a nonverbal hex on his older brother, surprised by the ferocity of the attack. Sirius yelped out in surprise and pain. Again and again a terrible flash of light hit Sirius, who eventually stumbled to the ground with a groan. Regulus looked at his mother in astonishment; he hadn't known his mother was so skilled and fast with her wand. The rage swiftly left Mrs. Black's face replaced with a cold indifference and she banished Sirius to his room, no meals for the day and no meals after that until he apologized.

Later that day an hour or two until dinner time, Regulus sat bored in the 'study room', which had once been a nursery and a play room. Now Mr. and Mrs. Black had converted it to a place where they forced their sons to memorize pureblood rules, all the members of the Black family, as well as all the pureblood families that had ever existed, and copy down passages from books. Sirius was rarely allowed in here, since he was usually in the midst of some punishment which was completed in the basement room or the bedroom. Though the tasks in the room were generally tiresome, it was the brightest and airiest room in the house. Today even in here Regulus felt suffocated. He knew the remedy to the emotions assaulting his mind and he realized there was no need not to do it now.

Regulus stood up feeling reckless because he wasn't even half completed with his assignment. He never did things like this and he thought that this must be how Sirius felt all the time. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but with his heart rate skyrocketing he wasn't sure if it was the _best _feeling.

Regulus closed the door silently and climbed up to his room silently. He had a lot of expertise being quite and unnoticed; one talent his older brother lacked. In his room, he opened a drawer, took an object out and quickly wrote out two short sentences. Holding the object tightly in his hands, Regulus left his room and preceded to knock softly on Sirius's door. He knew Sirius was in there, even though as expected his brother did not answer.

"Sirius?" he called out, so his brother would realize it was only him and not one of their parents.

"Haven't you done enough damage for the week, Regulus?" Sirius's voice was different, gruff and shaky. Regulus wondered for a moment if Sirius had been crying, but pushed the notion out of his head. He couldn't imagine Sirius shedding a tear; and if he had been the image was too jarring to ponder.

"I want to give you something…" Regulus said entering the room without Sirius's permission. He had no time for Sirius to battle with his pride.

Only one lamp was lit in the darkened room and it made the room eerie even though it was so bare there was nothing on the walls, or shelves or dressers to cast any shadows. Sirius sat cross-legged on his bed with one of his schoolbooks opened up in front of him.

Before he could loose his nerve, Regulus held out the object in his hand out to Sirius. "Here. Take it."

Sirius paused a second and curiosity must have taken over. Regulus gave his older brother a half-smile. He wasn't sure what his intentions had been and he didn't want to wait see what Sirius thought his intentions had been. He left the bedroom before Sirius had time to read and register the words he had written on the note.

So he missed the look of astonishment on Sirius's face. He missed the wonderment and amazement and the first real smile Sirius had directed toward any of his family members since his first day at Hogwarts.

The object Regulus had handed over to Sirius was the two-way mirror and the note attached bore the words: _I gave mother the wrong one. Hide this._

**A/N: Thank you for READING and now is the time to REVIEW, even if only to let me know that you read it. **

**I hope everyone had a great holiday and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Oh! And can you believe that we actually have the TITLE of BOOK SEVEN?! I actually felt quite sad when I learned the title because this is it; no more book titles to look forward to after this. **

**P.S. Next chapter the boy's will learn about Remus! Stay tuned:)  
**


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling…

**A/N: I'm terribly sorry that it took so long for this update, especially since this is one of the chapters many of you have been waiting for. The chapter is at least long, so I hope that makes up for it somewhat. **

Sirius was going back to Hogwarts today. He was excited and happy and he wasn't going to let anything damper it; not the rain outside, not the fact that his stomach was growling and especially not his father who had requested his presence in his office. Besides for the first few days of the break, Sirius had only seen glimpses of his father during meals. Though, today it was his mother who had mysteriously disappeared on an errand. It wasn't as if Sirius expected a proper goodbye, but it was odd that she would miss a chance to lecture him.

Orion Black was already standing when Sirius entered. He bowed, having re-formed that habit over the short break.

Yet his father did not turn to face him when he began speaking. "I know you fancy yourself a Gryffindor." The statement had a tone of disgust. "But you must remember that first and foremost you are a Black. Remember your heritage, remember who you represent."

Having said that, Orion turned to face his son and looked the boy over. It shamed Orion how his son, _his heir_, could look so rebellious and disobedient by _just _standing. Orion couldn't quite place what it was that made Sirius look so different, something intangible, but it was there none the less.

Sirius hadn't bothered to show any sign he was listening to his father. To him the words always carried the same message – everything he'd done and everything he did brought dishonor to the family.

One thing was different this time. Sirius felt freer; the guilt was not overpowering or affecting him physically. The guilt hadn't disappeared over night, but it was less, much less and that was a victory in itself.

With his eyes on Sirius, Mr. Black continued, "Staying in Gryffindor is a consequence you will have to live with. And it will not be an excuse for your un-heir-like behavior. Your mother and I expect better behavior, less detentions and top marks in all your classes. A mudblood is currently beating you in Charms; this will change."

Mr. Black paused, waiting for a response.

"Yes, sir."

"I also regret to tell you that you will not be given your wand quite yet…"

"What?" If his father was hoping to get his attention, he had certainly succeeded.

"Don't worry, Bellatrix will keep it safe. Your mother is giving her instructions as we speak."

Sirius bit his lip, fearful to hear the full details of the sinister plot his mother had come up with.

"You'll get it back if you sit with Bellatrix or any other suitable pureblood on the train and on the carriage ride. There will be no contact with Potter or any Gryffindor allowed. If you choose to disobey, being without a wand will be the least of your problems."

Sirius wanted to yell that he didn't care and that he didn't need _their_ wand. It was so stupid; it wasn't as if James would stop being his friend just because they couldn't sit together or at least Sirius hoped their friendship had gone beyond that. Sirius also wanted to scream that he was proud to be a Gryffindor, but the truth was that it was exhausting being the rebel child. His family controlled him; he was dependent on them. Times like this he felt he'd never get out of their clutches and all the trouble he was getting himself into was pointless.

_Enough of this. _Without ceremony Sirius turned and left the room, pretending not to hear his father yelling behind him to 'come back' since he hadn't been 'formally dismissed".

* * *

Sirius slumped against the seat gingerly. Sirius closed his eyes not eager for when _suitable _company would arrive. In hindsight it hadn't been a good idea to anger his father. Mr. Black hadn't taken a whip to Sirius, instead choosing a curse that made Sirius feel as if he was being attacked by a swarm of angry pincher ants. His back was still red and tender; still in leaving his father's office Sirius had been able to take control of the situation, if only for the few minutes it had taken his father to catch up with him. 

The compartment door slid open and Lestrange brothers entered along with Bellatrix.

"What's he doing here?" Rabastan asked.

"He'll be sitting with us," snapped Bellatrix, "You have a problem with that; you can sit with the mudbloods."

The Slytherin bit back a retort; wisely thinking twice before challenging Bella. Rabastan did grin viciously at Sirius, who returned the greeting. It was then that Sirius realized something his parents had missed – he had a history with the Slytherins already – a bad history. Sirius had already been part of multiple attacks as a Gryffindor against Slytherin, and a rivalry such as that couldn't be swept under the rug at least not in the halls of Hogwarts, no matter how much power the Black name yielded.

"Can we curse him?" Rabastan asked greedily.

Bellatrix chuckled; the topic of cursing always put her in a good mood.

"No…but knowing dear Sirius, there'll be plenty of reason for that later on."

Eventually Bellatrix and Rodolphus left to visit other members of their house, leaving Sirius in the company of five other Slytherins. Snivellus and Rabastan had the seats closest to the door and the rest of the company was female. Two girls sat between Snape and Sirius, Alyssa Malfoy (first year) and Leila Yaxley (second year).

Looking around Sirius knew his parents wanted him to talk to them, make alliances. According to pureblood ideology these were his equals, but to Sirius they were just snotty classmates, barely acquaintances. Perhaps if the Black's had not kept Sirius locked up away from all children besides his three cousins before Hogwarts, he would have befriended them already and had not grown such an aversion to these type of people. Sirius tried to use the tactic of pretending to be asleep, but all the girls kept up a steady chatter, even trying to lure him into a conversation about what he did over the vacation.

Alyssa Malfoy was focused on Snape. "I'm so glad you were able to attend my family's Christmas party, Severus," Alyssa said sweetly; she had a very girlish voice. "I was really hoping to meet your father, why wasn't he there?"

Sirius opened one eye and glanced at Snape impressed that the Slytherin looked very collected.

"My father doesn't enjoy social affairs," Snape answered slowly.

"No one has every heard of your surname before," Alyssa elaborated.

"Off course no one has."

Sirius opened both his eyes; the conversation was getting interesting. Sirius had known Snivellus was popular amongst the older students, but perhaps not everyone in Slytherin was taken by him. It had been foolish of Snape not to borrow the Prince surname just to avoid such uncomfortable questions.

"Why's that?" Alyssa raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows, her silver eyes glistening with a new source of gossip.

"My father grew up in a remote town, he did not attend a Wizard school, he is not rich, but I assure you his blood is as pure as everyone in this compartment. So you won't find his name on any of your family trees."

"How did your mother meet him then?" Alyssa asked coyly.

Snape's eyes narrowed, but he managed to still remain calm. "I have never asked them."

"Stop pestering him Alyssa," Leila Yaxley interrupted laughing softly, "I told you the Prince family wouldn't make known any relation to someone of un-pure blood…"

"- they'd just blast them off the family tree instead," Sirius muttered darkly. He hadn't meant to speak out loud, and all the occupants glanced at him as if just remembering he was still in there.

"Your family does that too?" Leila asked.

"Well you can have no claim to a family name if you aren't on a tapestry," Alyssa added, "How else would you deal with bad apples?" She looked over directly at Sirius as she stated her point.

Sirius shrugged hoping they didn't think he wanted to join in now just because he had spoken. The arrival of the food cart saved him though. He used the flurry of excitement over it to 'excuse himself to the bathroom'. No one attempted to stop him, but he knew if he didn't return in a timely fashion, someone would alert Bella; Snape or Rabastan being the two likeliest candidates.

Sirius cautiously made his way down the train. He found James and Peter in the fifth compartment down. They weren't alone; it looked like the entire Gryffindor team had squeezed into one compartment – some were even on the floor. There were also dozens of pieces of paper with elaborate lines and flashing arrows.

Everyone greeted him warmly when he stuck his head into the compartment to ask to speak with James. It was really the first time anyone in Gryffindor besides his four core friends had as a whole been kind to him. It raised his spirits at the possibility of being fully seen as a Gryffindor and not 'a Black in Gryffindor'.

James had been sitting next to McCoy had to stumble over everyone to get to the door. Outside in the hallway James and Sirius moved out of the hearing distance of their fellow Gryffindors, who had all been glancing at them curiously.

"How are you?" James asked bracingly. He was looking at Sirius as if he was doubtful it was really him. Sirius reddened with the thought of their last meeting. Sirius had no idea how James had interpreted what he saw and heard or where his imagination had led him.

"I'm fine." Sirius added a smile hoping this would reassure his friend. And he wasn't lying. He was better than he had been a few hours ago and having James worry did nothing to help the situation.

James frowned, crossing his arms. "You sure?" Ok, so James wouldn't be so easy to fool, perhaps he could delay the conversation at least.

"Let's not talk about that…" James looked ready to argue. "Not here…" Sirius muttered.

"Ok." James rolled his eyes, but at least he dropped the subject. "Where are you sitting? You can squeeze in with us."

"I can't."

James blinked. "Alright."

It wasn't the reaction Sirius had expected. There was no argument, anger or even demanding an explanation.

Not being forced to explain, Sirius suddenly wanted to do just that. "I want to, but—"

James held up his hand. "I'll see you in the dorm then?"

"Well, yes. What are you guys doing? Going over new plays?"

"McCoy has come up with this whole new practice routine over break. He wants us all to understand it first on paper, so that we can actually try them in the air."

"We're playing Slytherin soon, right?"

"In about a month. I'm pretty sure we are a better team as a whole. This will be our year to win the cup."

"No one will be happier than me if you slaughter them." Sirius looked to his left and right feeling as if someone was watching him. He sighed. "I need to get back."

They exchanged a few more words and Sirius made a beeline for the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and mentally prepared himself to face Bellatrix, by now she would have been alerted.

"Where have you been?" The words screeched through the train before Sirius had even stepped into the compartment.

"Bathroom."

"Bathroom?!"

"Calm yourself. Miss Yaxley and I were just about to continue with our fascinating discussion of her trip to Aspen."

If Leila Yaxley was surprised by his statement she hid it well, glancing coolly at Bella when she demanded, "Is that right?"

Sirius held his breath hoping he'd been correct that Yaxley, like a number of Slytherins didn't particularly like that Bellatrix was running Slytherin House since Malfoy's graduation. No one was brave enough to confront his cousin, but in true Slytherin fashion they'd undercut her authority in other ways.

"Yes, I was telling Sirius about this glorious restaurant I ate in."

Bellatrix scowled, but she couldn't do much more than that. She left in a huff leaving a silenced compartment.

Leila eyed him. "Aren't you going to thank me?"

"No."

"Well the least you can do is talk to me. I did save you from Bellatrix's wrath."

"I'm hardly afraid of her."

"Ah yes – that famous courage your house prides itself in."

"That's right."

"I find you extremely interesting." She threw him an unreadable look and Sirius couldn't help by worry that she was flirting with him.

"Aren't you worried your parents wouldn't approve you speaking to me – the blood traitor?"

"Actually they'd approve. And you haven't done anything horrible enough to earn the name of true blood traitor. My parents find all that stirring up you are doing refreshing. It's needed every once-an-awhile, but you'll grow out of it and become an eligible suitor."

"Is that right?" Sirius knew he'd had classes with this girl for the past year and a half, though he couldn't recall if she'd ever joined in when the Slytherins jeered or insulted him.

"Yes." She tilted her head in a challenging manner. The conversation continued and though Sirius knew he would have had a lot more fun with James and Peter, he wasn't having an awful time chatting with Miss Yaxley and it did make the train ride pass quickly.

Bellatrix wasted no time in grabbing him and pulling him to the side when the carriages arrived at Hogwarts. She was trying to be as fierce as possible, but it lost a lot of its effect with Hogwarts so close. Finally she dug into her robe pocket, chucking his wand at him; he barely managed to stop it from clattering on the ground. Sirius scowled. He was over being kind and obedient toward her and she no longer had a weapon over him. He'd get her back eventually. Sirius shot around her, walking away quickly before she thought of something else to say, halting by the opened castle doors where James and Peter were standing impatiently.

"Everything ok?" James asked his eyes shooting daggers at Bella, who had now rejoined her followers.

"Fine."

"Hey, Sirius," Peter said looking happy to see him, "Good holiday?"

Sirius looked at Peter for a moment unsure if he was being sarcastic, until he realized James hadn't told Peter what had happened.

It was a relief knowing at least one of his friends didn't know about his horrible home life. "Yea. Sorry about your sister. Is she doing better?"

Peter shrugged, "Slightly."

James motioned for them to start walking. "Let's go find Remus."

They followed the throng of students past the Great Hall up to the Grand stair case where all the students split up in the directions of their houses. Dinner would be served in an hour, so they were given time to freshen up.

Remus was not waiting in the Common room, so they continued to the dorm. As they clamored up the stairs, Sirius put his finger to his mouth to silence his friends, hoping to catch Remus by surprise. James cast a silencing charm on the door to their dorm, which always creaked no matter how slowly or how quickly you opened it. They found Remus passed out on his bed, Transfiguration book splayed open.

The three boys glanced at each other mischievously and then they all jumped on their unsuspecting roommate. Poor Remus was jolted awake. He groaned opening one eye cautiously.

"Morning sunshine," James greeted.

"Actually its late afternoon," Sirius pointed out.

"Good late afternoon sunshine," James repeated rolling his eyes.

"You shouldn't be sleeping Remus!" Sirius lectured mockingly, "The day is young…I knew this would happen if we left you alone."

Remus groaned again in response, hiding his head underneath a pillow.

Peter picked up Remus's almost completed Transfiguration essay. "I can't believe you don't have this done yet…even I did it already."

Remus realizing he wasn't going to be left to sleep sat up. "I'm so used to all the racket you lot make that it was impossible to get work done in silence."

Sirius smiled. "Well we're back-,"

"And louder than ever," James added.

"Hmmm," Remus yawned gathering his things, "Lucky me."

Sirius feeling a bit giddy decided to seize the moment. He lunged for the closest pillow, which was on Peter's bed and whacked Remus on the head. Laughing Remus retaliated by grabbing his own pillow, while James and Peter happily joined in on the pillow fight.

Deciding to get a better vantage point Sirius jumped on Peter's bed, shoes and all. This turned out not to be the best idea because his three friends decided to join forces and attacked him together.

The door to the dorm creaked open and then Cory entered giving them all disdainful looks. It probably did look odd to Cory, since they'd all frozen into whatever position they had been in mid-pillow fight. Peter had fallen on his bum from a forceful pillow hit, Remus had two pillows in each of his hands at ready, and James had half-climbed onto Peter's bed so he could combat Sirius one-on-one.

Remus placed his pillows back on his bed. "How was your Christmas Cory?"

By the time Remus had asked the question Cory had already thrown his bag into his trunk. "Fine," he answered curtly, exiting the room without another word.

The moment the door clicked closed, the four boys burst into laughter. It was the type of uncontrollable laughter that you don't fully know why you are laughing, but that only causes you to laugh more. It felt good to be back with friends and with classes starting up again being the worst of Sirius's worries.

* * *

It was the end of the first week of classes and there was about fifteen minutes until curfew. Not that James needed to be concerned about that with an invisibility cloak. 

James and Sirius were on the fourth floor corridor, an area they hadn't explored fully. James wished he had put on a heavier robe. It was chilly; the castle didn't retain much heat at night.

James glanced sideways at Sirius wishing he could read his friend's mind. James had asked Remus earlier in the day to keep Peter busy with some sort of two player game, so that James could talk with Sirius alone. Remus had agreed without even asking what James planned on talking to Sirius about. Remus probably could guess the topic; he did tend be perceptive when it came to those kind of things.

James ran his hand along the stone walls and remembered something he had read not to long ago. "You know how magic leaves traces? There must be a way to see that trace."

They were hoping to find a secret passage through luck and persistence, though if there was a more logical way to go about it – like following magical traces – it would make their quest a lot easier.

"All of Hogwarts is magical though." Sirius paused pointing his wand at a random spot and saying 'Alohomora'!" The wall just sat there looking convincingly like a solid wall.

"But maybe there would be a larger accumulation at the point of a trap door or a secret sliding door?"

"Do you think the founders put all those secret rooms and passages there on purpose?"

"Yes. You don't accidentally build a secret room behind a sliding bookcase, do you?"

"I always had a feeling Hogwarts had a life of its own, almost like its own personality."

"So you think if we ask the castle nicely, it will show us all its secrets?" James's words dripped with sarcasm.

"I didn't mean it that way."

"Well its better than your other idea… 'let's shout _Alohomora_ at random and hope not only that there's a secret door, but it can be unlocked by a simple first year spell.'"

And to prove his point James flicked his wand enthusiastically at the wall to his right. His mouth fell open as the wall rumbled and a portion of it slid open upwards.

"You were saying?" Sirius said smugly.

"That-well-you-," James stumbled over his words.

Sirius laughed. "That was more than luck. I'm just smarter than you."

"Right…" James mumbled, but he was smiling.

They entered a spacious room with a beautifully painted ceiling. The room was lit yet there was no visible light source. There were large cushions in dark rich reds, purples and blues. Though there were no cobwebs or dust, the air in the room hinted that no one had been in there in years.

James took a seat on one of the cushions stretching out. The moment he touched the cushion the door slid back down. Sirius took a seat as well leaning his head back against the wall.

"Mission accomplished eh?" Sirius asked. James nodded. "Except for the other reason you asked me to come with you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." _Best to play dumb._

"Pretty convenient Remus only invited Peter to play Wizard's Chess."

"It's a two person game."

"Usually one of us would play the winner…"

"Ok…so you got me." James had thought he'd been more discreet, but apparently not.

"Well what did you want to ask?"

Again James hadn't expected the conversation to be so direct. James paused trying to search for the right words. "Did you get in a lot of trouble for trying to sneak out?"

"You know the answer to that," Sirius replied trying, but failing to sound casual. There was a tightness to his voice that hadn't been there before.

"I meant – how exactly were you punished?"

There was a long pause and Sirius looked as if he was trying to decide on something. Sirius closed his eyes and softly replied. "I was whipped."

James hadn't expected an honest answer and had been preparing to stop Sirius from skirting the issue.

"Why didn't you – if I had known something like that would have happened I wouldn't have insisted you come over!"

"Don't blame yourself. My mother was itching to use that whip again since I left – she would have easily found a reason to use it on me."

"She's whipped you before?" He was unable to hide the surprise or shock out of his voice.

"A few times. It's not that uncommon for pureblood families to use that sort of punishment."

"My parents would never-,"

"Yea…well your family's the exception in a lot of things. Appearance is everything and your children will be better behaved – if you hold a threat bigger than a verbal reprehend over their heads."

"So it's pretty horrible being home then?"

"You could say that."

James's mind jumped to another subject. "Your brother looks just like you."

"That's about the only thing we have in common."

"Not another Gryffindor in the making?"

"Hardly."

"Oh well…" James trailed off unable to think of something adequate to say to that. He was never sure if it was proper to joke about this subject with Sirius.

"Did you get in trouble at all?"

"No…" James shook his head guiltily, "I did have to promise my father never to use his work hawk again."

"You're lucky," Sirius whispered sincerely.

"I know." And for the first time James really did know. He'd always known he had a privileged life. Then again so did Sirius on the outside at least. James had one privilege Sirius was severely lacking and that was parents who loved and cared for him. His parents weren't perfect, he wished they'd spend more time with him and less on their work, but these were miniscule problems when compared to living in an abusive home. James still remembered how Mrs. Black had looked and talked to Sirius, like she only saw him as a vessel to carry the Black name – nothing more and nothing less.

* * *

It was now nearing the middle of January and the boys were in Charms class. Professor Flitwick had asked the class to break up in pairs; Sirius and Remus partnered up and James and Peter formed another pair. 

Flitwick stood on the stool he always used when he was ready to talk to them for awhile.

"Each pair will be assigned a section in your textbook – you will have to come up with a way to present this information to the class. The presentation will be no more than ten minutes and please keep it theory based. At the end of the week, there will be a short quiz, so be sure to pay attention and ask your classmates if anything they present isn't clear. Now you have the rest of class to begin working on it."

There was a shuffle of desks as partners moved closer to each other. Sirius, Remus, James and Peter pushed their four desks together toward the back of the room.

Sirius and Remus had been assigned a section on the basis of charms that effect your emotion, such as the ever popular cheering charm. James and Peter had a less interesting topic having to learn about the founders of some of the most popular charms still used today.

Looking at the sheet of paper that stated the date of the presentations Sirius exclaimed, "Hey, we have our presentation on my birthday."

"We'll have to have a party!" James said excitedly.

"I'd rather the four of us just hung out…you know in that room we found on the fourth floor."

"Sounds great," Peter said and James nodded eagerly. Only Remus had grown quiet and looked unhappy at the suggestion.

"Your birthday is on January 21st? Next Friday?" Remus asked timidly.

"Yes. Why? Do you already have plans?" Sirius had sincerely meant the question as a joke.

Remus threw him a guilty look before speaking. "I-I won't be there that night. I'm visiting my mother."

"Your mother?" Sirius asked disbelievingly.

"It's already been set," Remus replied hastily, "Couldn't we celebrate Saturday night?"

"My birthday isn't on Saturday," Sirius stated stonily.

"I can't change the visit…"

"Why not?" Sirius looked at James for support, but he didn't seem to want to express an opinion on the matter.

"I just can't. I'm not lying. I do wish I could come, Sirius."

"I don't believe you!" Sirius knew the last few words sounded childish and selfish, but he couldn't help sounding that way.

Their voices were rising and Flitwick walked over. "Boys please keep your voices down and it might be wise to discuss your projects and not your weekend plans."

"Sorry, Professor," Remus answered reverently, while Sirius stared at his desk in silence.

The conversation for the rest of class was forced and when the bell signaled the end of class, Sirius gathered his books quickly. He didn't wait for any of his friends like usual.

Perhaps he was being unfair, but he'd been hoping for his birthday to actually be special for once and without the usual disappointments. At home Sirius had never looked forward to birthday celebrations because they always turned out to be boring and formal affairs. There was a birthday dinner of his favorite foods, except that his parents never asked him which foods were his favorites. The presents were always something boring, such as a book or quills - not sugar quills- ones that only wrote. It seemed his parents went out of their way to buy him something they knew no child would ever want. Then if there was a party, it was an adult party, where he was shown off to various relatives, friends and coworkers.

"Sirius! Sirius!" Remus caught up with him. Remus was breathing heavily and caught his breath before saying, "Don't be like this."

"I thought we were friends."

Remus looked tired and drained, as if this conversation was costing him. "We are –."

"Then tell me the truth!"

"I have."

"Not the half truth or part of the truth or eight five percent of the truth, the full truth."

"I've told you about my mother…"

"You aren't a very good liar," Sirius said tersely.

"What do you want to hear? That I'm hanging out with Snape behind your back? That I'm snogging Bellatrix in the broom closet? I'd change it if I could and that's the truth. If you don't believe anything else, believe that."

Sirius shook his head. "It's not enough."

He wasn't going to let Remus get away with these stories any longer. Enough was enough, but unfortunately he didn't have James and Peter backing him up. James told him to give Remus a break and that anything Remus confessed they couldn't really believe now because he might be pressured to make something up. It wasn't as if Sirius didn't feel guilty, because the next week was very awkward and he missed Remus's presence, for his secretive friend had grown quieter and more withdrawn with each day.

--

The week did not end on a happy note and Sirius was betting that he'd be adding today to the 'worst birthdays' list. James and Peter had broken into song the moment he woken up, but when Remus didn't join in, it ruined the entire moment. Not that Sirius blamed Remus and even though they were fighting, Remus did have the courage to wish him a _Happy Birthday_.

Then their presentation in Charms went horribly. Remus looked exhausted and since they were barely speaking to each other, neither was as prepared as they should have been. Sirius could tell Professor Flitwick was disappointed by their performance, telling them they barely earned a passing grade and assigned them extra homework about their topic.

After dinner Remus handed him a neatly wrapped present before leaving to see his mother. Sirius did thank him and almost apologized, but he held onto the hope that Remus would get tired of this all and just blurt out the truth. James had to go to Quidditch Practice and Peter tagged along with him. Sirius was in a brooding mood and obviously Peter didn't want to be stuck alone in close proximity.

All in all Sirius was glad to be alone, even if it was pathetic. With his school bag still slung over his shoulder, he decided to go to the room they'd be celebrating in later on the fourth floor. The door opened when he said the magic word and Sirius was greeted with a banner (Happy Birthday Mate!) and some balloons in bunches in all four corners.

On a small table that hadn't been there before were eight bottles of butterbeer and an assortment of sweets. Sirius admitted it did make him feel better to see his friends had at least put some thought into his very small party.

He took a seat on the cushion, but soon grew anxious and bored for James to return from practice. The package Remus had given him bulged out of his bag and curiosity took over. Inside a box was a long-sleeved t-shirt with Gryffindor on the front in block letters and two red stripes running down the sleeves. It was a better present than his parents had ever given him in thirteen years.

Still bored Sirius started his essay for Charms with lack of anything else to do. He finished the essay and read the Transfiguration reading assignment by the time James and Peter arrived. James was still clad in his Quidditch practice clothes and Peter's cheeks were red from the cold.

"Oi! What in Merlin's beard are you doing? Homework on your birthday?"

"Did you hit your head on something?" Peter asked with concern.

"I was bored…it took you long enough."

"Sorry…it was a full moon out tonight and it lit the sky enough that McCoy was able to drag the practice out longer than usual."

Something suddenly dawned on Sirius. "Full moon did you say?"

"Yea," James said taking a seat.

Sirius scrambled over to his bag, jerking out his moon chart and the piece of paper with the dates of Remus's disappearances. His heart beat wildly at the idea of spotting a pattern. _Yes…yes…yes…_ "They are all on full moon nights…" he said out loud unsure of what that meant.

"What are?" Peter asked, he'd been staring longingly at the food.

James had already caught on; bending to his knees and helping him double check all the dates.

James shook his head in wonderment still staring at the moon chart. "So you think Remus's mother is a…?"

"When does the library close?" Sirius demanded already standing.

Peter looked at his Muggle wristwatch. "It'll be open for fifteen more minutes."

"Let's go!" James said jumping to his feet.

Peter was still confused, but they had not time to explain it to him at the moment. He followed them as they ran down the hallway, passing a group of Prefects yelling at them to slow down. The library was nearly empty and the librarian gave them a suspicious glance. Not giving her a chance to question them, they went straight to the magical creature section.

They grabbed every book on werewolves and poured over them at the nearest table.

Sirius read quickly through the symptoms: tired, pale, peaky, irritable, preference for raw meat before full moons…and then about how after full moon nights a werewolf would look exhausted –as if they hadn't slept the night, drained, with mysterious cuts, bruises and scrapes. There was a part that mentioned how dangerous werewolves were to humans…

Peter was staring at a particularly gruesome painted picture of a man being torn up by a werewolf. "So you think Remus's mother is a werewolf?" Peter whispered eyes wide.

Something was bothering Sirius…there was something that didn't make sense. Why would Remus visit his mother on the one night she was the most dangerous – unless –

Sirius felt his stomach jolt when the truth hit him. It was so obvious! Remus had all the symptoms and that essay Adair had assigned Remus as punishment about werewolves…

"No," Sirius managed finally, trying to wrap his mind around the truth – that Remus, the kind, gentle boy he knew was right now a savage killer. "His mother isn't the werewolf."

"What?" James asked gesturing at all the proof they had on the table and Peter's scrunched his face up in confusion as well.

"Remus is. Remus is the werewolf."

**A/N: Thanks for READING, now please take time to REVIEW.**

**So they finally know the truth. I was originally planning on having the confrontation about Remus being a werewolf between Remus and James, Sirius, Peter in this chapter as well, but then I saw I needed more substance to add to the chapter before Remus's secret was unveiled and then I couldn't help ending it the way I did. So you'll have more to look forward to next chapter. **

**I want to thank all my readers for sticking with the story and for all the reviews I have received. The reviews mean a lot to me because it's the only way I know people are out there reading and enjoying the story.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: If I were J.K. Rowling I would be busy editing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and not writing fanfiction! **

**A/N: I had some trouble with this chapter because I wanted to do it justice. I didn't want it to be too sappy, I wanted to keep it original and as realistic as possible. And then on my first draft Peter barely had any part in the conversation and I didn't want that. BUT I am finally happy with it, so enjoy!**

"You're free to go."

Remus had never been more relieved to hear those words. Madam Pomfrey had conducted an extensive checkup and for awhile he'd wondered if he'd ever be released. To him the Hospital Wing was no sanctuary; he hated everything about the place from the beige rug to the white bed sheets. He couldn't wait to be back in his own bed where there was nothing to remind him of pain and full moons. Obviously the Hogwarts staff wouldn't want to make it too comfortable in there in order to discourage students from self admitting to get out of tests and homework.

His latest transformation had been more violent and painful than usual. Instead of bandaging the wounds on his body the nurse had covered them with a tan paste, explaining that this would lesson the chances of scarring. A large, but not very deep scrape on his hand had to be bandaged and this would unfortunately be hard to hide.

Remus had not told the nurse the whole truth about why his transformation had been more difficult. His parents had sent him a vial filled with pale yellow liquid. In the letter they had said they had personally talked to three werewolves who claimed that the liquid dulled the pain and calmed the wolf. He hadn't really believed the potion would do anything, but he'd taken it, gulping down the flowery scented, slightly bitter tasting liquid.

There had been no improvement and the wolf had been wilder instead of calmer. Despite not being hopeful of a change, Remus was still disappointed and he was not looking forward to writing to his parents about the failed remedy. His father took the search for a cure so seriously and deeply, which was why Remus had kept Pomfrey in the dark about it. The nurse would be sure to write a letter of reprehension, and his parents didn't need that after all they had only meant to help him.

It was smack in the middle of lunch time now and Remus debated between going to the Tower or the Great Hall. He could use more rest, but if he wanted peace he could have easily stayed longer in the Hospital Wing. His stomach growled hungrily making the decision for him. Swinging the large wooden doors open, Remus scanned over to the Professor's table where Professor McGonagall gave a friendly nod.

Looking over at the Gryffindor table to spot his friends, he saw them at the end of the table, farthest from the entrance, about six seats separating them and the other Gryffindors. Remus took a deep breath, feeling an unexplainable nervousness. He was just going to join his friends after all; there was no need for the apprehension.

Lily Evans and Grace Landon waved to him as he passed where the girls were sitting in the middle area of the long table. Remus desperately hoped his friends wouldn't focus on where he had gone to as they usually did the morning after. Remus was particularly concerned about Sirius. Would he still be angry with Remus about missing his birthday gathering?

Relief washed over him when he realized Sirius was wearing the shirt he had bought. Remus took that as a good sign and quickened his pace toward his friends. That's when he caught Sirius nudging James, having spotted Remus first. James looked up startled and gave Remus – was that a guilty smile? His stomach gave a lurch and his heart beat increased, but Remus ignored his body's warning giving his mates a friendly smile. Yet he couldn't ignore that in the short time it took to finally reach his friends, James ran a hand through his hair not once, not twice, but three times.

As he took a seat, trying to smile, he was bombarded with two other warnings, Sirius had not touched a plateful of his favorite foods and Peter was doing the opposite, stuffing his face and scuffing his feet underneath the table.

Something was wrong, but it was too late to bolt. Remus hesitantly asked, "How is everything?" It was a very lame beginning to any conversation and Remus felt his face warm when his words were blatantly ignored. Sirius was staring at him coldly, a look he usually reserved for Slytherins. Peter had stopped eating abruptly and James ruffled his hair for the fourth time.

_Were they giving him the silent treatment?_

Perhaps he even deserved it, he was deceiving his friends, but what choice did he have? In order to cover the awkwardness of the moment, Remus reached for a piece of bread and in the process his sleeve rode up on his arm, uncovering the blatant crisp whiteness of the bandage. He recoiled his hand back, but it was too late, they were all looking intently at his injured hand with calculating gazes.

James cleared his throat. "How'd your visit go?" James didn't sound like himself. His tone was polite and rehearsed, but at least he was speaking.

Remus shrugged. He wasn't going to lie about that. "Not so good."

Peter bit his lip and Sirius had picked up a utensil to push the food around his plate.

Feeling he ought to elaborate, Remus continued, "As you can see I – er- hurt myself."

"How'd you hurt yourself?" Sirius asked suddenly and there was an edge to the question.

"A glass – a glass vase broke…and I picked up the pieces by hand…I mean I should have used magic, but at the time…" He was rambling and he wasn't sure why. Even to his own ears his words were dripping with dishonesty.

Sirius smirked. "You sure nothing took a bite out of your hand?" The comment was made in such an offhand manner that Remus at the time didn't connect it with anything. He stared at Sirius blankly. How was he supposed to respond to such a strange question?

"We had an interesting night," James interjected. Remus smiled at James thinking that he was drawing the topic away from whatever subject Sirius was trying to drudge up.

"Very interesting," Peter agreed.

Remus took the bait; playing whatever game his friends were playing. "Oh yea? Did you find a secret passage?"

"Not exactly," James paused, carefully choosing his next words, "We did uncover a secret."

Remus reached out to take another piece of bread, taking a bite of it so he wouldn't have to respond.

"Don't you want to know what it is?" Sirius urged. The friendly manner and joking tone was missing from the statement.

"Only if you want to tell me," Remus responded evenly.

James kicked Peter under the table. "Oh!" Peter sputtered his eyes widening, "Did anyone else hear all the howling outside last night?"

"Howling?" James echoed his eyes on Remus, not on Peter who had spoken. Remus frowned.

Peter nodded. "Y-yea. It sounded like w-wolves. The howling woke me up."

"I didn't hear anything, but I did notice one thing," James said quickly and he lowered his voice in a conspiratorial manner, "The moon was especially _full_ and _bright_ last night."

"Do you guys think there are wolves in the Dark Forest?" Peter pondered and cringed when Remus looked at him directly.

"I don't know." Sirius had rejoined the conversation. "What do you think, Remus?"

"About what?" Remus said warily, his mind was having trouble keeping up with the conversation and he couldn't seem to process most of it as if they were speaking another language. He felt a creeping dread, waiting for the response.

"If there are wolves in the forest?" Sirius rolled his eyes in impatience at Remus' slowness.

"Why would I know that?"

"We thought you might enjoy _frolicking _with them once a month."

His stomach somersaulted in one nauseating lurch. In a strange combination of opposites Remus' face heated while the blood in his veins froze. _No…no…no… _that one word tumbled in his mind refusing to believe the obvious. Remus swallowed painfully, his throat dry and hands sweaty.

James leaned in saying softly, "Remus, we know."

He was frozen to his seat, but his mind was already conjuring up horrible images of his friends calling him a half-breed, a monster, not human – telling the other Gryffindors and the truth would spread around the school so as he walked the halls the younger students would skirt away in fear and the older ones would spit and jeer in his face.

"We figured it all out…" Sirius divulged breaking his horrible thoughts, "your secret that is…"

He had to get out of there. Remus covered his head with his hands. He couldn't bear to look at their faces; to see the same hate and revulsion in his friends' eyes as he had seen in other people so many times. It had been a mistake to think he could go to Hogwarts; one messed up mistake. He could feel their eyes on him and the pressure was too much.

Remus stumbled to his feet, knocking into Peter accidentally and causing Peter to drop his glass of cranberry juice. The shattered glass mixed with the red liquid looking like blood and Remus felt nauseated. The sound of shattering glass had caught the attention of the student body and everyone had turned around to look in their direction. So Remus fled, he wouldn't wait like a sitting duck for James and Sirius to announce what he was.

The slamming of the door behind him, the muttering of the students, his friends calling his name and Evan's voice yelling at his friends to leave him alone – all echoed in his mind as he went to find sanctuary.

* * *

Remus stretched out lazily and opened his eyes allowing them to focus on the surroundings. He sat up suddenly, knocking his head on the wall. _Where was he? _His brain slowly started up and the painful memories of yesterday came flooding back. 

Unable to face anyone Remus had spent time in the library, then in an empty classroom, and back to the library. He kept moving to make it harder for anyone to track him down. When night came he had a run-in with the caretaker, Filch, but he'd ducked into an empty hall closet and that was where he'd fallen asleep.

Remus' muscles were all cramped and he had an awful taste in his mouth. He felt physically weak as if he hadn't eaten in a week, after all Remus had missed lunch and dinner and maybe even breakfast depending on the time. His hand and other gashes throbbed slightly reminding him that he had forgotten to see the nurse last night.

Remus stood up unsure about his next course of action. He had no idea if his secret was out and at the same time he couldn't hide in the closet forever. Cautiously Remus made his way to the more well-used hallways which he found empty. He wondered if classes had started for the day.

"Mr. Lupin!" Professor McGonagall was standing right behind him and giving him one of her famous stares.

"Morning, Professor," Remus replied casually, as if nothing was wrong, a tactic he had learned from his troublemaking friends.

"Why are you not in class?"

"I'm not feeling well," Remus replied and it was the truth.

"You should be in the Hospital Wing then, not skulking about the halls. And none of that excuses you of being out of uniform."

"Sorry, Professor."

"I'll take five points off for that. Now either go see the nurse or get changed and go to class. What class should you be in?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"I'll send Professor Adair a note to not take any additional disciplinary action when you arrive late."

Remus thanked McGonagall and he turned toward the most direct route to the tower. Going to Madam Pomfrey would mean getting another lecture; the nurse would be disappointed in him for not seeing her the night before.

The common room was empty except for a few seventh years that had a free first period. None of them paid him much attention, which meant for whatever reason his secret was still safe. In the dorm he found a note on his bed. _We need to talk._ It was in James' handwriting. Remus sat down wearily on his bed. How many friends has his parents lost because of his lycanthropy? Dozens and he had in turn lost childhood playmates. At the time he'd just been bitten the whole neighborhood had known because there was no way to hide it.

And when his parents stopped receiving invitations for play dates and then when a group of older children had thrown a rock at his window, they had moved to a larger town, where no one knew them and where everyone was too busy to notice if they had any secrets to hide.

Remus wasn't sure why James, Sirius, and Peter hadn't told anyone, but the fact did not calm him. It worried him that they had something planned, perhaps they wanted to 'out' him in public.

Remus changed into his black robes slowly, but he couldn't drag that out forever. Entering Adair's class late was an infraction that was right up there with cheating. He hoped McGonagall's note would be enough to deter Adair from using her usual corporal methods.

With a new sense of determination, he was in Gryffindor for a reason; he strode with a purpose out to the hallway and straight to Adair's class. He didn't dawdle or dwidle. With a trembling hand that he ignored, he opened the door and practically ran into Sirius.

Sirius and Leila Yaxley were on opposite sides of the room, wands held in position of a duel.

"Remus!" Sirius breathed, his face held a mixture of relief and annoyance. Remus felt his muscles tense and his gaze was drawn to where James and Peter were seated by reflex. James was watching him warily and Peter's face turned pink. Peter was scared of him that was obvious, but what was going through his other two friends' minds was a mystery.

"Mr. Lupin, I'm glad you could find time in your busy schedule to join us." It amazed Remus how Adair could manipulate her voice to sound unthreatening, yet at the same time make the hairs on his arm stand up.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Professor," Remus answered obediently. He'd stay polite and courteous, so she wouldn't have any reason to punish him. He wished Sirius would stop staring at him.

"Well Mr. Lupin, you've missed the demonstration part of class so I'm afraid you'll receive a failing grade for participation today." Adair almost sounded as if she sincerely regretted having to do that, but Remus knew better. Adair jerked her wand and an empty desk rose into the air, flying by Grace Landon's and Elli Aston's heads, so that the girls had to duck; and landing next to the Professor's desk, so that it was facing the class.

"You will sit there and outline chapter five for me quietly."

"Yes, Professor," Remus replied, eager to sit down and for the lesson to go on. He ambled over to the desk and set on his task as if he normally sat there everyday.

In a strange way the busy work came as a relief. It would have been worse if Adair had him sit silently unable to participate and just watch because there would have been no distraction from his problem. Remus had learned from a young age to use the written word as comfort and he immersed himself in the work.

Class ended sooner than Remus expected and he noticed James, Sirius, and Peter packing their things and whispering intently. His hands began to shake and in his nervousness he couldn't seem to get his book back into his satchel. His savior came in the form of a red head. Lily had stopped perhaps on purpose, perhaps not, right in the middle of the aisle and began to chat loudly with two of her friends, blocking his friends.

It may have only bought fifteen to twenty seconds, but in that time he regained his motor skills, his book slipped into his bag easily and he disappeared into the crowded corridor, avoiding the confrontation he wished never to have.

* * *

"Out of my way, Evans!" James demanded irritably. The gaggle of girls obliged, but it was too late. Remus was out of the door and engulfed by the endless corridors of Hogwarts. James swore running a hand absentmindedly through his hair. 

"We'll never find him now!" James said angrily to nobody in particular. Snape snorted in his direction, but there were too many people around to show him a lesson.

"We have Potions soon," Peter supplied helpfully.

"We can corner him there," Sirius added darkly, "If he doesn't show up late and if he sits by us."

"You'll do no such thing!" Lily Evans had been walking behind them with Adrianna Wood by her side. She did not look embarrassed as one would expect after admitting to eavesdropping, instead her nostrils flared and her green eyes danced angrily.

"Stay out of this Evans." Sirius waved her away with a regal hand as if she were just some pest, nothing to be concerned about. Lily didn't take being ignored lightly. "I won't stand by while you harass him."

"We're not harassing anyone," James replied indignantly. "I'll have you know this is mainly Remus' fault – all we want to do is talk to him and if he hadn't lied to us…"

"He lied to you?" Lily asked, suddenly more interested.

"Yes, us, not you, so don't expect us to tell you," Sirius supplied. They had come to an unspoken agreement to keep Remus' secret, at least until they could question him. They didn't care if he lied to other people, but they were his friends; they shared the same room that should all count for something.

"He looked upset," Lily ventured, "You are his supposed friends, and doesn't that worry you?"

"Perhaps if you hadn't blocked our way, we'd be talking to Remus instead of you and this would all be resolved," James retorted.

As annoying as Evans was, she did have a point. Remus did look terrible. He looked shaken and drained, giving them that cornered animal look. Why was he so afraid to speak with them? Really they shouldn't even be the ones chasing after Remus; he should be apologizing for all his lies and half-truths. Though it wasn't your run-of-the-mill secret, James had to admit. Remus was a werewolf and James wasn't that naïve, he knew about all the prejudices against them.

In Potions there were exactly ten spots on the benches so Remus could not avoid sitting in his usual seat, which happened to be next to James. Remus looked as peaky as he had before, and he stared straight ahead, ignoring everyone else around him. Sirius nudged James to say something to Remus, but with the sudden chance to speak; his mouth wouldn't form any words.

Professor Slughorn began explaining the properties to common poisons found around the house. It wasn't until Slughorn had them begin concocting an antidote that James felt he could turn his attention to Remus.

"Are you ever going to talk to us?" James asked, keeping his voice low, but somehow Evans still had managed to hear because she threw James a withering look.

Remus stopped his chopping of milkweed and sighed exasperatedly. "We're in class. I need to concentrate."

"The thing is it's been difficult to hunt you down between classes…" James was making an effort to keep his voice friendly and calm.

"I've been busy."

"To busy for your friends?"

Remus jerked his head toward him. He was very jumpy lately. "Just leave it."

"So is the plan to ignore us for the rest of the year? We all _do_ live in the same room."

"There is no plan," Remus replied tensely.

"So you will talk to us eventually?"

"Can't you just leave it," there was desperation in Remus' voice now, "Leave me alone."

James bristled; he was trying to be understanding of Lupin's situation, but if Remus wasn't even going to make an effort on his end. "If that's what you want?"

"Yes," Remus answered, picking up his chopping knife once more. He was back to his potion as if their conversation had never happened.

James obliged. He had no choice. He couldn't force Remus to talk to him. If Remus wanted to throw away their friendship; who was he to stand in the way?

Ignoring Remus was easier in theory, than in actuality. The jokes and laughter during the rest of class that James shared with Sirius and Peter sounded fake and flat. They even made a show of packing their equipment, walking by Remus, not giving him any more recognition than you would a potted plant, but it didn't have the desired effect. And to top it off James couldn't help feeling guilty.

Once Remus saw they weren't going to bother him anymore, he did appear more relaxed in their other classes. That didn't stop Remus from missing lunch and dinner, but he did know where the kitchens were, so James wasn't worried that he might be starving himself.

After a rigorous hour of Quidditch practice, James was in the shower washing the remainder of the grime and sweat off. James wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom into his room. Whistling to himself, he looked up and literally jumped back in surprise.

The tune he was singing died on his lips. "Evans?!" And he turned bright red in embarrassment. He grabbed a robe to cover himself properly. Sirius and Peter were both gaping at the unexpected visitor.

"How did you get in here?" James demanded.

"I walked up the stairs off course," Lily said looking at him as if he were the crazy one.

"Just walked up?"

"Yes. And the door to your dorm was cracked open, so I just…" She trailed off, her cheeks reddened. It seemed she finally realized that she ought to be a little embarrassed at the situation. "But I really needed to talk to you! I ran into Remus and he's leaving!"

Sirius raised one of his eyebrows, a skill James had yet to master. "Leaving?"

"Yes, leaving the school," Lily repeated.

"To visit someone?" James asked carefully. It was possible that Remus' mother was sick and he was still a werewolf. The two things didn't have to be related.

"No! For good!" Lily exclaimed.

"What?" yelped James.

"He's going to the Headmaster's office right now. You've got to stop him."

James shook his head. "I've tried. He won't listen to us."

He glanced over to Sirius and Peter for their input.

"Well try harder!" Lily cried, twirling a strand of her red hair. Strange how only a few hours ago, Evans had been telling them to lay off Remus and now she wanted them to pull him back in.

"Dumbledore wouldn't just let him leave," Sirius replied. James nodded in agreement.

"I don't know…Lupin looked determined."

"Why didn't you try to stop him?" questioned James.

Looking hurt, Lily mumbled, "He told me to shove it."

"Doesn't sound like Remus," Sirius said worriedly.

"Ok," James said tiredly because Sirius was right. Remus generally wasn't rude to people, especially not a girl. They were being stupid; this wasn't the time to abandon their friend. "We'll give it a try."

Lily smiled and James looked over at her. "Mind leaving, so I can change?"

Evan's face turned as red as a robin. "Sorry…good luck."

James rummaged around his things to find a clean robe. "I think I should just go."

"Why?" Sirius asked. He had one of his shoes half on.

"If just one of us goes, it will be less threatening."

"If you are worried about being unthreatening, send Peter then," Sirius suggested with annoyance.

Peter looked alarmed, but James just waved his hand signaling Peter to just ignore Sirius.

"I'm just going to convince Remus to come back here and then we can all speak to him."

Though Sirius didn't seem to think this was the best of plans, he didn't argue any further. As James went down to the common room his mind raced with the quickest route to the Headmaster's office. He made it there in what he felt was 'record time', but the entire hallway was empty. James stared at the door the led to Dumbledore's office. _Was he too late? Was Remus in there_? He gave a feeble knock on the door, but there was no answer. He tried again more forcefully, still nothing. Either Dumbledore was ignoring him or he wasn't in there.

James sighed, best to just go back to Sirius and Peter and strategize from there.

* * *

James had only missed Remus by a mere thirty seconds. In fact Remus had stared at the same door James had, willing it to open, but without the correct password, no pleading or spell would open it. 

Remus concentrated on the clunking of his shoes on the stone floor. He liked the sound, it was almost soothing. He couldn't believe it had come to his. Once word was out that he was a werewolf, he'd be forced to leave so he'd rather leave on his terms, not theirs. What his roommates were waiting for, why they still kept his secret, Remus didn't know. It was worse actually waiting for the bomb to be released, knowing it would happen, and looking over his shoulder constantly, looking suspiciously at every student.

Going to Hogwarts had been the best thing to happen to him. It had brought hope to both him and his family that perhaps with a formal wizard education, he might lead a normal life. Apparently many werewolves lived in the 'underground', away from society and Remus supposed now he might have to join them.

It was ironic how the one thing he'd always craved, friendship, was now the reason he had to leave. If only he'd stayed more distant…if only they hadn't cared about his absences…if only James and Sirius weren't so clever…if only he'd never been bitten in the first place. Remus forced himself to stop the if-only game in his head. It was something he found himself doing every so often and it was pointless…

He'd almost gone to look for a teacher, who may have known the password or at least a faster way to contact Dumbledore, but that would inevitably lead to questions he didn't want to answer. It was going to be difficult enough to explain it once to Dumbledore. Perhaps he could even owl his parents and ask them to pick him up…though right now he couldn't face the disappointment in their faces. Would they shout at him for not being more careful with his secret? No, it was better to tell them with Dumbledore on his side. The Headmaster would agree with him and make his parents see that this was for the best.

Without paying attention to where he was going, Remus found his feet had carried him straight to Gryffindor Tower. Figuring he'd be leaving soon anyway, packing his things wasn't a bad idea. He murmured the password and walked in; his eyes lingered on the plush red couches, the warm glow of the fire, wondering if this was the last time he'd see it. No point in moping around, he went up the stairs, hoping to find the dorm empty. No luck.

"Remus?" Sirius asked in surprise, "Where's James?"

He shrugged. "Why would I know?" Remus took the four large steps to his area of the room.

"James went looking for you," Sirius said as if that explained everything.

Remus shrugged again and began to meticulously pack his pants, then shirts and then his robes. He heard the pounding of feet and the door creaking open, but he didn't turn to see who entered.

"Remus, this needs to stop!" James' voice filled the room firm and decisive. Remus felt a hand on his shoulder and he spun around shaking it off.

"It is stopping. I'm leaving," Remus declared.

"You talked to Dumbledore already?" The worry and concern in James' voice was out of place, though he appeared sincere.

"No," Remus replied sourly. He didn't bother asking how they had found out he had gone looking for Dumbledore. He just went back to his packing.

"Will you stop!" Sirius burst out angrily. "This is getting ridiculous."

Remus turned around and James had his wand out as quickly as a snake's darting tongue, and it was pointed straight at Remus.

"Are you going to hex me?" The words choked out of his mouth. As he grasped for his own wand, he realized quite suddenly how sweaty his hands had become and how madly his heart was beating. His body was preparing for Flight-or-Fight.

"If you force me to," James said evenly. Sirius had also taken his wand out and Peter had moved toward the exit. His escape was blocked and he'd never win in a duel. He loosened the grip on his wand, his situation was futile.

"What do you want from me?" Remus whimpered, closing his eyes in resignation. He sat down on his bed, placing his head in his hands.

"How about we start at the beginning?" James proposed.

"Beginning of what?" His voice came out shaky. He wished that whatever they had planned they'd just get it over quickly.

"The beginning…as in the truth," James said lowering his wand a fraction.

"But no more lies," Sirius proclaimed, his voice and expression still angry. The silence was deafening in the room and Remus couldn't bring himself to speak. He'd turned mute. It shouldn't have surprised him. He had handled this whole situation in a cowardly manner. He even deserved their anger…how shocked and frightened they must have been when they found out what he was?

Sirius grew impatient. "Are you a werewolf?" Remus flinched hearing the word spoken for the first time on one of his roommate's lips. He hadn't been prepared and now the word was out there…just hanging.

Remus nodded numbly and found his voice, it was hoarse, but at least he was speaking. "I'm leaving so it doesn't matter. You won't have to share a room with a _werewolf_ any longer."

"We did some reading on werewolves. One book said that they are only dangerous on full moons," James relayed ignoring Remus' last words.

"If we can trust the book," Peter interrupted suddenly. He was trembling slightly, but he didn't seem to notice. He was looking at Remus with revulsion. "My mum says you can't trust anything a werewolf says. They are all untrustworthy and they should all be locked up!"

By the widened and shocked expression on Sirius and James, Remus figured that Peter had kept quiet on the whole werewolf subject…until now that is. Remus had been called all those things before and worse.

"That's rubbish and you know it Peter," objected James.

"Why? He has been lying to us all along, hasn't he?" Peter said back.

"Peter's right. I'm going." Remus grabbed the rest of his clothes unceremoniously dumping them into his old trunk. He turned to leave, back to his quest of finding the Headmaster, but Sirius and James were still blocking his way. "Let me through."

"You shouldn't have lied to us," James said slowly, "But you don't have to leave because of that."

Remus gave them an incredulous look. "That's not why I'm leaving."

"Then why are you?" Sirius demanded.

"Because of what I am! A half-breed! A werewolf…I could rip you all to shreds."

"But only on a full moon," James cut in.

"That fact is enough for most wizards and witches to send me to the gallows!"

"Not us!" Sirius stated fiercely. "Sure it's interesting that you're a werewolf-,"

"Interesting?" echoed Remus. He never heard that word used to describe his affliction before.

"-but we're more concerned why you didn't trust us," finished Sirius.

"Look how Peter reacted…that's the reaction I expected from all of you…even worse. How could I tell you?"

"Because we're your friends!" Sirius answered hotly, as if that made all the difference.

"I've lost friends over this before!" Remus said matching the decibel Sirius' voice had risen to.

"They couldn't have been good friends then," James said firmly.

Remus wanted to argue that they had all been good people, but even good people had their prejudices.

"So you don't care that I'm a werewolf?" he asked in disbelief. He couldn't consider it until he heard them answer the question directly.

"No!" Sirius growled, "You could be half-vampire-,"

"Or half-pumpkin-,"

"Or half-turnip-,"

"Just a werewolf," Remus said, letting out a sound that was between a laugh and a sob. His eyes prickled with tears, but not because he was upset. He met first Sirius' eyes and then James' eyes, wishing there was some way to articulate how much this meant to him. They still liked him despite his lycanthropy.

"Were you born a werewolf?" Peter asked tentatively.

"No…I was bitten by a werewolf when I was a small boy," Remus managed, keeping his voice under control.

"That's horrible," murmured Peter, who now was looking at him as if he were a human, no longer a monster found in childhood nightmares.

"I really am only dangerous moon," Remus said hoping to quell Peter's fear. "Really deadly mind you, but Professor Dumbledore put in enough precautions."

"So Dumbledore knows?" Sirius asked.

"Yes." And Remus realized he could show his gratitude by answering all their questions. They hadn't abandoned him like he feared, and he now owed them the truth.

"And so do all the teachers, right? Even Adair," questioned Sirius.

"Part of the conditions of my acceptance to Hogwarts was that all Professors would be told as to avoid complicated questions when I was absent."

"What if Adair tells someone?" James asked worriedly.

"They were all sworn to secrecy."

"Your mother never was sick, was she?" Sirius threw in triumphantly.

"No…it was the only excuse I could think of."

"Not a very good one," Sirius muttered.

"Tell me about it. I wish I hadn't lied to you…but my parents and even Dumbledore felt it was best if as few people know about it as possible."

"Well lucky for you, we're forgiving people," James said lightly, "So – er – where do you go to – transform? Is that the proper word?"

Remus took a deep breath. He felt awkward talking about, but he knew he needed to. Carrying around that secret had been a burden (always lurking in the back of his mind) and now he could share some of it with his friends. "The Shrieking Shack."

"In Hogsmeade?" Peter asked in surprise, "The haunted one?"

"It's not really haunted…the noises and howling is really me?"

"You!" Sirius laughed and his face lit up in delight, "You're behind all those ghost stories? Amazing!"

"And the Whomping Willow tree was planted for me too." He couldn't help enjoying their looks of astonishment.

"You had a murderous tree planted just for you?" James whistled wistfully clearly impressed by this bit of information.

"It hides a tunnel that leads straight to the Shrieking Shack and that's where I transform every full moon."

"Does it hurt when you transform?" Peter asked cautiously.

"It's very painful…all I really remember is the pain…the rest of the night is really just a blur."

His friends silently mulled this over.

"What about all those wounds and scratches you always get?" James wondered quickly, as if he wasn't sure it was a proper question to ask

"I do that to myself."

"What?!" James, Sirius and Peter all exclaimed.

"Yes. Without human prey the wolf gets restless. Without anything else to hunt, it resorts to biting itself."

"That must be terrible," James said placing a comforting hand on Remus' shoulder. "Isn't there anything they can do?"

"There's no cure. Anyway I'd rather deal with _that_. I'd rather deal with the pain than the worry of actually biting someone…infecting someone else with this..."

His friends sat quietly, but their presence was enough. The fact they hadn't abandoned him was enough. Remus allowed himself to relax and his worries eased.

He let the warm feeling of friendship and loyalty wash over him. The unleashing of the secret had not severed his bond to these three boys, instead it had strengthened.

And their friendship would grow creating a bond filled with laughter, pacts, pranks, late night escapades and full moons, but would ultimately be destroyed by suspicion, betrayal, and murder.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed the 'confrontation' chapter. Please let me know what you think by leaving a REVIEW. I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews of the last chapter. And if you did not sign-in I have put review responses in my author profile.**


	19. Chapter 19

**EDIT: After a reviewer pointed out a spelling error, I went back to this chapter to at least correct some of the more glaring errors, though in the form of content nothing in this chapter has changed if you have previously read it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, any of its characters, places, ideas, etc.**

**A/N: I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I've updated. I've tried to update my profile (I don't know if any of you have been visiting) about where I was with the chapter. I had problems with my laptop and on top of the writer's block and it all this combined with real life made it all very hard for me to write this chapter. I am relieved I was finally able to write it. Sorry if there are any errors, I didn't spend as much time editing it as usual because I really needed to update and my next week is packed with things to do. Well here it is…let me know what you think!**

Lily was sitting in the middle of the lake on a rowboat and somebody was calling her name, which was ridiculous because there was no one around. The voice was insistent and sounded suspiciously like Adrianna. The lake around her began to disappear and her eyes snapped opened.

By the light streaming through the dorm window Lily could tell it was much too early on a Saturday morning for there to be so much commotion.

"Good, you're up," Mattie Carter said with a grin, placing a hat and scarf on her head that matched her blue eyes perfectly.

"What's going on?" Lily asked sleepily.

"There's going to be a snowball fight!" Grace Landon exclaimed as she clasped a heavy cloak over her shoulders.

"Hurry on up or they'll start without us," Ellie Aston instructed carefully finishing braiding her hair. Lily rolled her eyes, as if Ellie had a right to complain about being somewhere on time. Countless times they all had to wait for her to get ready. Still Lily was interested in seeing a magical snowball fight especially after knowing how the magical world had changed the rather dull game of chess.

She jumped out of bed and dressed quickly. She stepped into her warmest pair of pants, threw on a sweater, and buttoned closed the new long winter coat she had received for Christmas. She wrapped her Gryffindor scarf around her and borrowed Mattie's pink hat, since she had misplaced hers, even though it clashed horribly with her hair.

The girls clamored down to the common room, which was buzzing with students all dressed in their warmest gear. Lily's attention was quickly brought to a fourth year girl with incredibly curly hair who was shouting at another fourth year, Gideon Prewett.

"You can't decide that girls aren't allowed to join," she bellowed, hands on her hips.

"Why not?" demanded Gideon, "Darien and I were the ones to plan this, so we make the rules."

"Hey, keep me out of this," Darien protested good naturally from across the room.

"Look you'll either get hurt or be in the way…"

"It's only a snowball fight. I think we can handle it," retorted the girl.

Wisely Gideon relented, though he didn't have much of a choice when all the girls backed his opposition, and none of the guys were willing to back him up. Trying to establish some authority, Gideon did make it clear that any girl who whined or complained for any reason would be banished back to the castle.

There was a sudden loud commotion by the entrance of the boy's dorm. Lily was not surprised to see James and his gang. They always made a noticeable entrance wherever they went, but Lily hadn't figured out if they did that on purpose or if it was a by-product of their boisterous personalities. An unexpected addition to the usual crew was Cory, who was engaged in a conversation with Remus. Perhaps there was still a chance Cory could become friends with his dorm mates, but the fact that Cory extracted himself the moment he saw Lily without saying a word did not help the matter.

Cory's only two friends were Lily and Adrianna. The other three Gryffindor second year girls only tolerated his presence because they enjoyed Lily's and Adrianne's company. The toleration only lasted so long and often times Grace, Mattie and Ellie grew tired of Cory's presence and Cory never felt comfortable when they engaged in 'girl stuff'.

What annoyed Lily's three roommates the most was that Cory wasn't a good source of gossip about his own roommates. They didn't understand, as Lily did, that the boy's weren't going to trust Cory if he was never around.

Lily had been trying to recently get Cory to realize that problems were going to arise if he isolated himself from people who he'd be rooming with for the next five years. But Cory was stubborn and he didn't see an immediate reason to bridge their differences.

Cory, like Lily, felt that the rules were there for a reason. This philosophy directly clashed with how James and Sirius treated the rules. They picked and chose which rules suited their needs.

Another difference was Cory sided with the girls whenever a conflict arose between the boys and girls. It was a silly thing, but still important at their age and it would have been a good way for Cory to prove his loyalty to his roommates.

It was only going to get harder for Cory and even though it wasn't Lily's problem, she couldn't help worrying. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter had all grown tighter this last week. Why? Lily didn't know. She would have expected the opposite since last she knew Remus was not only, not on speaking terms with them, but was also thinking of leaving Hogwarts. Now he was back to being close friends with Potter, Black and Pettigrew. Lily would have loved to know what had happened, yet not enough to ask them personally and Cory had snapped at her when she asked him if he knew anything at all.

"Morning Cory," Lily greeted enthusiastically. It didn't matter to her if he didn't get on with his roommates. She had a lot in common with him. They both loved chocolate, had a pet dog and mothers with the same first name.

"I wish the snowball fight would start," Adrianna announced excitedly, practically bouncing on her feet.

"I'd rather be asleep," Cory said, "But if that lots up, the whole world has to be up too."

Their eyes fell upon 'the lot' Cory was referring to. James had charmed Peter's gloves to float just above his reach. The plump boy was jumping up and down laughing at his inability to reach the items.

"Bloody idiots," Cory muttered darkly.

"Oh come off it, Cory," Grace stated, "You can be so boring. Why would you _want _to miss the snowball fight? It'll be fun and you could use some."

Lily had to agree with both of them. Cory did need to loosen up and not be so serious. At the same time she understood Cory's feelings. The boys' antics were occasionally entertaining, but for the most part they grated on her nerves as well.

"We all know Cory is just jealous that everyone likes them," Ellie said now directing the conversation into murky waters. This may have been a truth Cory needed to hear, but now was not the appropriate time. While no one outside of the second year knew who Cory was, James' and Sirius' popularity was growing each week.

As much as Gryffindors touted about blood not mattering, Lily couldn't help but wonder if James and Sirius weren't wealthy purebloods, if other students (especially the older ones) wouldn't be as patient with their antics.

"I'm not jealous," Cory replied hotly, only proving the exact opposite of his words. "I just don't see why everyone thinks they are so brilliant."

"Well I wouldn't make enemies with Potter and Black," Ellie said.

"I'm not enemies with them."

"You certainly aren't friends either," Mattie voiced.

"So! There's no law I ought to be."

Cory was fighting a losing battle. It didn't matter what Cory said and it only made Cory less likable to harp on two well-liked boys. Though at times the girls still found the second year boys lacked maturity, they were able to overlook it enough to still hold them in admiration. Grace, Ellie and Mattie all thought Black was the handsomest boy in their year and they admired Potter's quidditch skills.

Even Adrianna, after James proved his skill on the quidditch pitch, didn't like to speak ill of him and wouldn't join in on chats about how annoying he could be, as if disliking Potter would somehow effect his quidditch skills. It wasn't just Adrianna, all quidditch players were held a little above the rest, especially around game time. This week happened to be around game time. Gryffindor would be playing Slytherin in a week and emotions were running high on both sides; fights breaking out in the hallways constantly. Lily found the level of competitiveness ridiculous, but she kept that opinion to herself. Quidditch was not a topic to joke lightly about. Everyone took the sport too seriously to even attempt that.

Even though Cory was not as good looking or athletic or intelligent as his more popular roommates, he did have an innate kindness and an ability to listen. Sadly few saw this side of him because of his reserved personality and with the jealousy inside of him slowly clouding who he really was and it made him less approachable and less friend-able.

Lily hoped he would realize this soon, but in the meantime she was more than willing to change the subject for the benefit of everyone.

"How about we all go down to the courtyard?" Lily suggested. "It's bound to start soon."

Everyone agreed to that and they were joined outside by about twenty-five other Gryffindors. They wanted to begin as soon as possible because though technically no rules were being broken, if a teacher or prefect got word of it, they would surely put a stop to the fun.

Once everyone participating was present, they were split into two teams. Lily, Cory, Mattie, Grace, Potter, and Black ended up on one team, while the other second years were in the other group.

Mattie and Grace were both gazing at Potter and Black, who were talking softly to each other. When the boys noticed they were being watched, they sauntered over.

"That's a _really _pink hat," James commented while Sirius snickered beside him.

"You've learned your colors Potter? Bravo," Lily quipped back.

James frowned slightly. "Well I could change the color for you," he offered casually.

Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "No, that's ok."

"Maybe you should," Grace said, "It does clash horribly with your hair." Lily shot Grace an annoyed look. Well obviously she knew that. She just didn't trust Potter near her head with his wand.

"It's an easy spell," James added, "I could do it in my sleep."

"Change it green so it matches with her eyes," Mattie said with a giggle.

"Green?" James asked horrified.

"What's wrong with that?" Cory demanded. Lily looked at James expectantly.

It was Sirius who replied. "Slytherin's color is green."

Lily found herself unable to speak. Were they joking? Her question was answered by the serious looks on their faces. She knew anti-Slytherin sentiment was at an all time high, but it was still an utterly stupid reason.

"Just change it black then," Lily said with annoyance, "And nothing better sprout of my head."

"Right," James replied brandishing his wand and he muttered the spell so that Lily couldn't quite make out the words. She touched her hat gingerly, taking it off and was surprised to see it had indeed turned black just like it was supposed to.

Just as she was about to grudgingly thank James, she noticed Black was trying to hold in his laughter and Grace was smiling widely in the direction of Cory. Lily turned warily to her friend to see Cory's black hat had turned the same pink color that her hat had been only moments before. Other students around them were beginning to look over at them and Lily felt her temper rise.

"You did a switching spell!" she scolded, eyes flashing at James.

"Well spotted," James replied with a grin that caused Mattie and Grace to giggle. Cory caught on that they were speaking about him and ripped off his hat. He pointed at James in what he probably thought was a menacing manner. "You did this!"

James shrugged. "What are you going to do about it?"

"It was only a joke. Nothing to be upset about," Sirius remarked.

As expected Cory did nothing and Lily muttered under her breath exchanged hats with Cory, so now she was still stuck with the pink hat. She was debating about asking James to properly change it when Darien called for silence to explain the rules.

"If everyone could please put their wands away. This will be a muggle-style snowball fight!"

There was a chorus of groans and Lily was disappointed that she wouldn't see what witches and wizards could change in a snowball fight; she would just have ask someone about it later.

"Oh!" pouted Mattie. "I had a cool spell to try out…It was supposed to give an extra twirl to your throw."

"Never fear," Potter interrupted with a chivalrous air. "With Sirius and I on your team there's no way we'll loose."

"Is that so?" Lily asked, wishing she hadn't risen to the bait.

"There's no doubt," Sirius clarified as he threw one of the snowballs he'd made already up in the air and caught in with ease.

"Because I bet you've both been in loads of Muggle snowball fights before?" Lily pondered.

Her sarcasm was missed by James who answered, " 'Course not, but I can throw a quaffle, so a snowball will be just as simple. And so can Sirius."

With that answered, the two teams were given a few minutes to plan, stockpile snowballs, and build shield walls of snow.

The snowball fight started and Lily ducked behind one of the walls. It was a wet and cold, and fun. As much as Lily didn't want to admit it, Potter and Black were great assets to the team. Their snowballs hit the mark more often than not. Grace and Mattie stayed near Potter and Black, cheering them on and only once-an-awhile attempting to join in the game. Out of nowhere someone from behind James hit him square in the head and complete mayhem broke out. The teams scattered, snowballs were coming from all directions and in the midst of the shouting and laughter – an angry voice broke through. "Potter! Roberston! Prewett!"

Everyone immediately froze, some still half in motion. McCoy, the team captain began angrily shouting, "Merlin's beard, we have the biggest game of the year in a week and I find you three frolicking in the snow!"

Potter, Robertson and Prewett were trying their best to look properly sorry, but their amusement was breaking through. "What if you became injured or sick or caught and thrown in detention on game day? What then? I'd be minus two chasers and a beater that's what! If any of you even sniffle in my company you'll be doing laps until you pass out. This game is important and it needs your full attention this entire week. Inside NOW!"

The three boys exchanged long glances and silently agreed it was best to follow their team captain's instructions.

"Carry on," McCoy muttered at the rest of them and he also left. Everyone looked unsurely at each other. The two boys who had organized this were now gone and the magic of the fight had disappeared with them. They were now left with the wet and cold reality of the snow. The girl with curly hair who had been yelling at Gideon took charge, calling the fight officially over and to start returning to the castle.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Ellie asked brightly as she and Adrianna joined them.

"Too short," Adrianna remarked and she turned to Cory looking displeased. "I saw what you did."

Cory gave a guilty shrug. He did not have the gift of being able to lie. "What was that?"

"You were the one to hit James with the snowball."

"So? It _was _a snowball fight," he answered smartly.

"Potter's on your team!"

"It was only a joke," Cory replied echoing the same statement Black had used a short while ago.

"You should be grateful that neither James nor Sirius noticed," Adrianna stated.

"He deserved it," muttered Cory, but Adrianna did not hear, she was already walking up ahead with Ellie, Grace, and Mattie.

Lily smiled at Cory though knowing it looked forced. "It doesn't matter."

They started for the Great hall to fill up on a delicious warm breakfast to chase out the cold of their bodies.

* * *

Sirius Black was walking back to the castle with Remus and Peter on either side of him. The snowball fight was over and there was now no reason to idle outside. He wasn't as cold as his mates. The heavy, expensive cloak with the Black crest was very warm and kept him dry. He just wished the Black family crest embroidered on it wasn't so large and visible on the left breast. 

Why did everything he own have to be ruined by that emblem? He disliked the extent his family went to parade who they were and the nobility of their heritage.

Sirius wondered where James had gone off too. He knew there was a Gryffindor practice scheduled for the late afternoon and he hoped McCoy wasn't going to make James, Darien and Gideon practice extra. The scene had been very amusing, but surely there was little danger in some of the team members in participating in a small snowball fight. Then again having an unhealthy obsession with quidditch seemed to be a prerequisite for joining the team, and McCoy did have the pressure of captaincy and delivering a win for Gryffindor after all those losses the past few years.

"Did you see Cory hit James with a snowball?" Peter asked. He looked rather pleased with himself to be the bearer of such information. They were now inside the castle.

"Did he?" Sirius replied. Remus was giving Peter a disapproving look; he never liked when trouble was brought up.

"Rather foolish of him, really," Sirius said off-handedly. He viewed Cory as only a slight nuisance. When he had his cousins and Snivellus to worry about, Cory was brought to the bottom of his list.

"Don't worry," Sirius quickly stated before Remus could interject his wisdom. "I'm not going to tell James. It's not worth the trouble."

"Good," Remus said with relief. "Let's stop by the common room before going to the Great Hall."

"Maybe James will be there," Peter pondered.

Down the hall right before they were ready to ascend the steps toward the Gryffindor Tower, Frederick stood blocking their way.

"I've been looking for you, Black," Frederick said, "I've got a note from Professor McGonagall."

He handed over the note roughly and left with a derisive nod. Sirius knew if James had been around Frederick would have been politer.

Sirius opened the note. McGonagall wanted to see him as soon as possible and it stated she'd be in her office for most of the morning. He wasn't looking forward to the visit, since visits to her office were generally unpleasant, but it was best to get this sort of thing over with.

"I better go see what McGonagall wants."

"Do you think you're in trouble?" Peter asked.

"Probably…I just don't know what…"

Sirius had been all too happy for the week to end. It had been a tiring time. The snowball fight had been the perfect way for them all to let out their pent-up energy. Now that they knew Remus' secret, things had generally improved, but they also had new things to deal with. None of them wanted to act differently around Remus or treat him differently, but pretending nothing had changed or nothing had been revealed felt just as insincere. And finding a balance between the two was not as easy as it looked.

He knew it was wrong, but Sirius couldn't help imagining his mother's and father's reaction to one of his roommates being a werewolf (or half-breed in their minds). He would never let it slip, he had promised Remus to keep the secret, and he wouldn't back out of his words. Still it was tempting. He could picture perfectly the way his mother's face would contort and the sound of her raving on for days and days about how the school had gone to the dogs. In actuality his parents had never pressed on the subject of werewolves when educating him on the right and wrong sort of people. Perhaps because they didn't feel werewolves were as meddlesome in wizard affairs as mudbloods and blood-traitors. You didn't hear often of werewolves speaking out on behalf of themselves or for their rights.

McGonagall's door was half open and Sirius knocked lightly on the door. As he stepped in, he wished he'd taken the time to shed his warm cloak because the office was stifling hot.

"Come in, Mr. Black. Have a seat."

Sirius hesitated. He'd been hoping from the Professor's tone of voice to glean the nature of the visit, but she kept it carefully under control. He warily took a seat.

"I had a chat with your mother a few days ago."

Sirius didn't hide the grimace crossing his face. It figured this meeting would somehow involve her.

"Sorry to hear that Professor."

McGonagall's mouth tightened as if she were trying to suppress a smile. "Yes well she refrained from completely bashing Gryffindor, so it was one of our more agreeable meetings."

"Was she trying to get me to change Houses again?" he asked miserably.

"No. She did however express concern about your marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Sirius frowned. He couldn't see his mother ever caring about that subject. His family tended to be involved in the very type of things they were learning to defend themselves against. "I have a high mark in that class."

"You are above average, but there are three students ahead of you in that class."

Sirius scoffed. "What she wants is perfection in everything I do, which is bloody impossible."

"Mr. Black, please keep your language under control."

"So did she request you to lecture me about the importance of grades, since she's unable at the moment to lecture me constantly?"

"Your mother has requested you to receive extra lessons."

"Extra lessons?"

"Tutoring is not that uncommon in Hogwarts."

"Except I don't need tutoring. I'm not going to agree to this."

"Mr. Black, this is not up to you. The rules state that your guardian has the right to request extra lessons and to make it mandatory that you attend these. The consequences for missing these extra lessons would be the same as if you missed class."

"Unbelievable…" Sirius said more to himself than McGonagall.

"If you do not want to be stuck in detention every single night I think you should attend the extra lessons. Whether you need them or not is debatable, but they certainly will not hurt you. If your grades do improve, perhaps I can persuade your mother to drop them, so study hard and spend more time on your work."

Sirius looked away in disgust. He already thought he spent too much time on school work and the incentive to increase it wasn't very appealing. His mother would always find some other way to control him.

"Professor Adair will be in contact with you about your first lesson."

"Adair? You aren't doing them?"

"_Professor _Adair. As your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher don't you think she'd be the most qualified to tutor you?" she asked peering at him over her glasses.

"No," Sirius uttered. In his opinion even Peter would be a better option. Spending time with Adair was the worst sort of torture possible. She already singled him out in class, reprehending him, chastising him and it would only increase in private lessons. There he would be Adair's sole focus of attention and his mood decreased dramatically from just thinking about being in that situation.

"Mr. Black, personal issues aside, Professor Adair is a fully qualified teacher. This will be a good life lesson for you. It is important to learn how to work with people you dislike."

"Can I go, Professor?"

"Yes, Mr. Black and I hope you heed my advice. I am giving Professor Adair full power over deciding the punishment if you are late, miss a lesson, or are not applying yourself seriously."

Sirius left the office quickly. The cooler air in the hallway helped lift his mood slightly, and he could breathe easier, but it didn't change that he was completely helpless in the adult controlled world he was living in.

* * *

The Whomping Willow loomed in front of them looking even more deadly in the light of the starry sky. 

Sirius stifled a yawn. He didn't want Remus to call this off just because he was a little tired. They were all still tired from yesterdays late night celebration. The whole school had turned out to watch Gryffindor stunningly defeat Slytherin. The game had been exciting, high scoring and dirty. The score had stayed close, but it was evident in terms of skill and preparation that Gryffindor was superior. James had scored more goals than his last game and his flying was spectacular, diving and dipping as if he'd been born in the air. With Darien and McCoy as his teammates, both talented, Gryffindor's chasers made a formidable front.

During the common room celebration James received a good batch of female attention. Between Victoria hanging on his every word and Grace, Mattie, and Ellie gushing about how brave and amazing he'd been, James didn't have much time to devote attention to his friends. Even Adrianna at one point grabbed James to discuss in detail the more technical aspects of the game. Sirius didn't mind it all, choosing to hang in the back with Remus and Peter where it was quieter. He was in no mood to listen to idle female chatter or deal with their attempts to gain his attention. He was content for now to just enjoy the atmosphere.

Remus had stopped a few feet away from the Whomping Willow and it didn't look like he was going to move closer any time soon. After two weeks of pestering, Remus had agreed to show them the Shrieking Shack where he went through his transformations. Sirius knew the main reason Remus had agreed to this was he still had feelings of guilt for deceiving them in the first place.

Remus took a step forward his face creased with worry. Sirius glanced over at James who was trying to be patient. They both knew that Remus was completely capable of deciding right there and then not to show them. And since Remus hadn't divulged any information about how to actually get past the tree to the tunnel, they would have no choice, but turn around.

"You've got to promise me one more thing…" Remus said his voice very soft.

"We've already promised not to say anything, Remus. And we haven't. Have we? If we wanted to tell anyone we already would have," James reminded quickly.

It didn't look like Remus heard a word. "You can't ever visit me or go in the tunnel during a full moon. _Ever_."

"Ok," Peter said with a nod.

"You need to understand this very clearly. You cannot come to visit me. No matter how careful you think you can be…once the werewolf gets the scent of a human nothing will stop it. I could kill you or at the very least turn you into a monster like me."

"You aren't a monster," James objected seriously.

"Have you ever met a full grown werewolf?" Remus asked. James shook his head. "Then you have no idea what you are talking about."

Sirius sighed "You have our word, Remus. I can even give you my word in French and Latin if that would make you feel better."

Remus didn't look like he appreciated the attempt at lightening the conversation. "I want you to all remember we can be expelled for this if we are caught."

"Way to stay positive," Sirius muttered, "If we get caught, which we won't because no one is out here in the middle of the night, then we'll take the blame."

"They'll know I told you. I'm the only student who knows about the knot."

"We'll tell them we forced you at wand point," Sirius said. James nodded enthusiastically, while Peter seemed to be trying to remember having agreed to this plan, but he did not object.

Remus had to learn to stop worrying constantly. James had his invisibility cloak on him, which in a pinch could hide all four of them. The chances of getting caught were very slim and the longer they stayed out in the open by the tree, the greater chance Remus' fear would come true.

Remus sighed, still looking as concerned as he had when James and Sirius had first suggested he show them the Shrieking Shack. "You can't let it slip accidentally to any student that the tree is guarding anything. Especially not a tunnel. The tree was put there to protect me from students and if too many students get curious about it…"

"We know. We know," James assured, "Anything else?"

"It's my greatest fear you know."

"What?" Peter asked.

"Biting someone."

An uncomfortable silence began to form around them. Sirius was sure Remus would tell them to go back to the castle when he surprised them by asking, "Did you find a long enough stick?"

"Yes," James said cheerily, "Peter found one."

Peter unveiled under his cloak a shorter stick that James tapped twice with his wand to lengthen.

"Who's going to do it?" Remus asked.

"I will." James had volunteered before anyone else could. He gave Sirius a challenging look, but Sirius wasn't going to argue over it. James did have the best reflexes of the group.

Remus began pointing out to James exactly where the hidden knob was located. Sirius was having trouble following the directions; he wasn't sure if the knob was located more to the left or to the right. James on the other hand was nodding, his gaze steadily on the deadly tree.

"Ready?" Remus questioned carefully looking around to make sure they were still alone.

"Sure," James said with a gulp and he even managed to pull off a brave smile.

James took the stick from Peter and jumped up and down a few times to loosen his muscles. He began with a running start, suddenly sliding onto his belly, his arm stretched out as far as he possibly could and then the stick struck the tree. James had one shot to hit it in the right place or else. As quick as lightening James rolled to his right hoping that if he had indeed missed it the branches would miss him. The branches started quivering and one looked ready to strike exactly where James lied and then the tree froze.

Letting out a breath that he hadn't known he had been holding Sirius gazed up in wonderment at the tree. Helping James to his feet, he found James was breathing heavily and looking very relieved that Remus had known exactly what he'd been talking about.

There was a gap now visible in the roots.

"Let's go," James declared and there was no argument from any of them. None of them were eager to test how long the Whomping Willow would stay frozen. They had to crawl through the opening and carefully slide down a slope toward a low tunnel. No one dared speak as they all lit their wands and made their way down the tunnel having to crouch slightly. It seemed to Sirius that they were walking forever when finally the tunnel began to slope upward and twist one last time and in front of them was a small opening.

"Up through that hole," Remus instructed when James, who was leading, had momentarily paused.

They entered into a room that smelled old and dusty with all its windows boarded up with various pieces of furniture, some of them with scratches and bite marks, while others looked still to be in surprisingly good shape. Sirius roamed his eyes around taking in all the details of the room. This was the place his mate went every month; this in a way was Remus' second home.

Sirius grinned. He loved this feeling of recklessness. It was against so many school rules for them to be here, but that made it all the more alluring and exciting. And they weren't here to see the Shrieking Shack just for selfish reasons. It was important for Remus to be able to show them this place and help them understand what he went through, especially when it was so hard to understand solely through words.

"This…" Remus began with effort, "This is where I usually begin my transformations, but I have free reign of the house…You can look around."

"Is there an upstairs?" pondered James, "Can we go up there?"

"If you want," Remus said. He led them to a hall and up stairs that could crumble beneath them at any moment. There were a few doors, but Remus made a beeline for the middle one, which was slightly ajar. They entered a room quite larger than the one downstairs. There was a large oak table with chairs. There was also a couch that had seen better days and a fireplace that hadn't been used in years.

Having seen this room, Sirius and James went straight towards the other doors in the hallway to finish exploring. One held a large four-poster bed and the other was a storage room that had an assortment of things ranging from chairs to cushions to strange looking objects.

They all returned sitting on the chairs by the table. There were exactly four and the one Sirius sat down on wobbled precariously under his weight.

"What do you think?" Remus asked cautiously.

"It's bigger than I thought…and it's a great hide-away," James said his eyes shining brightly with possibilities.

"The only thing it's hiding is a werewolf," Remus grumbled.

"We should come here again," James remarked, "We could plan pranks here in complete privacy."

"No," Remus responded firmly.

"Why not?" James protested, "As long as it's not a full moon, there's no danger being here."

"Because I said so and because every trip we make here will increase the chances of us getting caught by a teacher or a student seeing us. This isn't here for that purpose," Remus explained with exasperation.

"Just think about it?" James asked.

"We should get back"," Remus said in response. The subject was obviously closed for now.

"No one knows we're gone," Sirius said.

"Cory does," Peter reported, though he shrunk back when Sirius glared at him.

"Exactly and what he knows, Evans knows," Remus said latching on to the excuse with relief.

"Well Connor won't be waking up anytime soon. Sirius and I took care of that," James said proudly.

"What did you do?" Remus asked, "Nothing illegal I hope."

"We just placed a few drops of a mild sleeping potion in that glass of water he always has on the side of his bed," Sirius explained.

"Are you sure he drank it?"

"Yes. He won't wake up until morning," Sirius promised.

"We will go back soon," James said looking rather serious all of a sudden. "Tomorrow we do have class after all. Before that we're going to have a ceremony. Everyone light your wands, place them on the table and have the tip face toward the middle."

They all gave James skeptical looks but followed the instructions.

"I was thinking since we know one of Remus' secret that we should all share something no one else knows about us. This way we all are on equal terms. By agreeing to this you swear not to tell anyone else what you hear today. You're exempt from this Remus because we already know yours. How about it gents? Are you up for it?"

Sirius felt his stomach give a jolt. He didn't like this idea of sharing secrets. His family life was full of them and he wasn't ready to share them with anyone.

"I don't know…" Sirius said slowly.

"It's fair. Isn't it? Or are you too scared?"

Sirius scowled. He wouldn't let James get away with implying he was even the least bit nervous. "I'm not scared. I just think it's stupid."

"Think what you will about it, just as long as you agree to it. Remember it has to be truthful and something important. Who wants to go first?"

"You can Potter," Sirius suggested.

"Ok." James took a deep breath. He looked them each in the eye and began to speak carefully. "My grandparents want me to marry a pureblood. As the only heir to the Potter line it's on my shoulder to keep our line pure. My family may be blood-traitors, but we still hold power in the Ministry and only because we are pure. If that changes, so does our influence."

His words were met by silence.

"Peter your turn."

"I think…no, I know," Peter stammered, "I know that my parents love my sister more than me. I can already tell she'll be the favorite."

Three heads turned to Sirius and felt as if a spotlight was on him, bright and hot.

Sirius licked his lips. His mouth felt dry. His face felt warm and he wished they'd never convinced Remus to take them here.

"Sirius?" His name echoed in the quiet room.

Sirius closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't know why this was so hard for him.

"Last summer my parents locked me in the basement or if not in the basement in my room…and at times they-" He took a breath. "They hit me."

James stood up and whispered, "Nox." Their wands went out. The ceremony was over. They stood up silently to begin the long walk back to the castle.

On the way back they slowly began talking again about mundane things and Sirius found he felt better. The secrets shared not forgotten, but circling around them and adding strength to their growing friendship.

They were at the entrance hole to get back on the grounds of Hogwarts when Remus spoke from behind, he was last in line. "Thank you."

They turned back to look at him in surprise.

"For sharing a secret…so that I'm not the odd one out."

"No worries mate," James replied smiling and patting him on the back.

"Right," Sirius said, "There should be no secrets between friends."

So they formed a pact that night, standing in the tunnel tired and sweaty from the walk. A pact stating their trust in each other and that no secrets would stand between them. It was a youthful, ideological idea. At the time they did not understand the delicacy of truth. They did not understand that so many things in the world were neither a lie nor the truth, but an in-between. They did not understand that so many adults were content in living with lies or in that in-between state as long as they were not bothered and as long as they were left alone.

**A/N: Thanks for reading (and if you are a returning reader, for sticking with this story), and please take now the time to review. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

**I want to finish the marauder's second year before the final and seventh book comes out. There will be about four to five more chapters, so if I want to make my goal, I'll have to update more regularly. I'll have the review responses for people who did not sign-in last chapter in my profile. **


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Here's the next chapter…only a few more to go until the end of the story.**

"Enter, Mr. Black."

Sirius braced himself as he opened the door to Adair's office. There was a twinge of annoyance audible in her tone. Was it possible that Adair didn't want these lessons any more than he did? Sirius knew his mother, not to mention the influence of the Black name, could be very persuasive.

Sirius spotted a desk, smaller than the ones used in some classrooms, set with a chair. On top of the desk were a black-feathered quill and a plain notebook. Professor Adair was sitting at her own desk, the scribbling and scratching of her quill sounded harsh in the silent room. Immediately Sirius felt uneasy.

Adair blatantly ignored him as she finished correcting the unfortunate student's essay that was now filled with red ink and cross-outs.

She cleared her throat; the noise was so abrupt that Sirius jumped. "First I will explain the rules to you. One of the most important things you will exercise in my presence is proper courtesy and proper manners. You will treat me with the respect you'd give any elder authority. I know you've been instructed in all these avenues and just because the Headmaster does not believe in teaching these traditions and just because other teachers do not require it, will not excuse you. In here, during your private lessons, you will obey my instructions."

During the speech, Adair's face remained impassive while boring her grey steely eyes into him. Those same eyes made it clear that she would make him suffer and all because of his failings as heir thus causing his mother to come up with ways like this to rein him in.

"You have already committed one infraction. Do you know what that is, Mr. Black?" Her tone now took on that sing-song quality, one she used in class when she enjoyed picking on students. Sirius shrugged successfully hiding his nervousness.

"Ah, now there's another rule. If I ask a question I expect an answer. Usually a 'no Professor' or a 'yes, Professor' will be sufficient."

She sat still watching for his answer and for his compliance. This was after all the first test to see if he was going to listen to her. Sirius allowed a twenty tense seconds to tick by before mumbling, "No, Professor."

Adair practically beamed. "Bowing. You did not bow when you entered. You are also required to bow after I dismiss you."

Adair nodded and waited patiently for him to follow her request. So Sirius bowed, a gracious, perfectly executed bow that would even make his parents proud.

"Very good," she complimented as if he were a five year old child. "So it is true that you have been properly bred; you just choose not to act in accordance."

Adair waved a perfectly manicured hand toward the desk. "Take a seat. The other rules we will touch when you break them."

"Yes, Professor," Sirius replied. The back of the chair was very stiff and the desk was slightly too tall for the chair it had been paired up with making it very uncomfortable.

"Inside your notebook is a list of twenty Latin roots and words. A number of these will be very important in understanding the use of particular jinxes, hexes, and curses. As heir you should be at least familiar with the meaning of the words. It is highly unlikely we will reach the point to cast any of these enchantments and even more unlikely I will be allowed to demonstrate them to you. Copy the list with the definition six times. After that I will quiz you to see if you have retained any of the information."

Sirius opened the notebook, his eyes swiftly scanning the list. "We haven't learned any of these in class, how is this supposed to help my grade?" Sirius protested.

"Tsk, tsk. Not exactly a good start. I didn't think you'd break both rules so quickly into the lesson."

Sirius grimaced. He was still working on learning to control his impulses properly, spitting out words that he should have silenced, and learning to choose only the worthwhile battles. It was something that perhaps he'd never have full control over.

Sirius spotted the ruler Adair had utilized in her corporeal methods. It lay quite harmlessly on her desk, placed precisely where the occupant of the student desk could not miss it; knowing Adair had already proven she was not shy in hitting her students he muttered resentfully. "Sorry, Professor."

"Yes, you will be because after you are finished with your current assignment as punishment you will write out the full list of all the pureblood families ten times. I know the entire list and for every name you omit you will rewrite the entire list once more. I do not think you appreciate the impact these families have had in your history and it will serve as a good reminder. Begin!"

Sirius began to protest again. The punishment was practically a copy of the type his parents used on him during his pre-Hogwarts lessons. Adair silenced him with a glare; clearly she was just a pawn being used by his over-bearing mother and his father would not have any qualms with this. Frustrated Sirius snatched the quill tunneling his anger not at Adair, but at the task at hand.

* * *

James was excitedly relaying to Peter the new play McCoy had the chasers try out during practice. Peter was nodding determinedly at James' description of the loop and side throw that was part of the complicated play, even though he doubted Peter could really understand the intricacies of it. 

Still Peter was acting interested enough and James never backed away from a chance to talk about the greatest sport of all time.

James' confidence level was at a high and as a result his walk had developed into a slight strut. Not only was Gryffindor now 'the team to beat', but the team was coming together, flying flawlessly, and executing their formations perfectly. Quidditch had now become a daily or at least weekly part of his life and he could not remember how he had managed to deal with not being part of the team his entire first year.

What was there not to love about flying? It was just you and your broom, the sky an endless adventure.

"Oh, look who it is?" a taunting voice cried, "Wee little Potty."

James didn't need to turn to recognize Bellatrix's voice. He didn't believe Bellatirx knew Peter's name. Usually James would take any and every opportunity to exchange un-pleasantries with the Slytherins, but he was in such a good mood he didn't want anyone to ruin it. James faced Bellatrix preparing himself mentally for the battle, and seeing Lestrange and Snape flanking her with sneers, James knew he'd come off in the worse end of this scrape.

Bellatrix drew her wand and a yellow light hit Peter before James had time to react. Two horns sprouted through Peter's blonde hair and Peter cried out feeling them tentatively with his hands. James grabbed his own wand, holding it out in front. Bella laughed at his brave attempt.

"Point that piece of wood somewhere else, boy, you aren't in my league yet. I'll let horn-boy go to the nurse. It's you I want."

Peter cowered looking wildly between his tormentor and his friend. "Go on," James waved impatiently. Peter did not need to be told twice and he high-tailed away.

"At last, Potter. I've wanted to have a chat with you, but you're very attached to Sirius. It isn't easy getting an audience with you alone."

"Well here I am," James responded and he lowered his wand, no longer in a defiant stand.

"I don't like when Slytherin loses _anything_. And Gryffindor beating Slytherin makes me particularly unhappy."

James listened cautiously for Bellatrix to continue unsure of where her line of thought was leading to.

"And now that you've become quite the little quidditch player, I'm afraid that you're part of the cause of my unhappiness."

"I didn't make the winning goal. I didn't catch the snitch," James stated quickly, "And it certainly isn't my fault the Slytherin keeper can't block a quaffle to save his life."

"Clever. Your problem however is that someone has to pay – and that someone has to be in Gryffindor. I've already expressed my concern to the Slytherin team forcefully and if they know what's good for them, they won't lose another match. Anyway a Gryffindor has to pay, and you fulfill that qualification. You are on the team and I've never really liked you anyway."

"The feeling is mutual," James retorted, "but hexing me won't make Slytherin win next time."

"It will make me feel better," she said watching his reaction to this calm statement. "It isn't just quidditch; you are meddlesome in other areas, such as spending more time than necessary with my cousin, even after repeated orders to distance yourself. You are housemates, we are reasonable, you two can't completely avoid each other, but you haven't done that, have you?"

James shook his head, partly in answer and partly just from disbelief. What difference did it make if Sirius was a friend or just an acquaintance in the same House?

"Look Sirius decided to stay in Gryffindor while we were stilling fighting. If he chooses to be my friend, I'm not going to tell him to shove off because you said so. I don't control Sirius' choices."

"You have more control than you think. The other Gryffindors have followed your lead. If you didn't care a Black was in Gryffindor, they didn't care and thus forming a welcoming atmosphere for Sirius; one that would not push him to re-sort into his rightful House."

James knew he could never get Bellatrix to see his side, especially since Sirius' potential re-sorting had occurred months ago and she was still obsessing over it as if it had happened yesterday. She was looking for excuses, topics to rile him up, maybe even get him to cast the first jinx.

"I don't hold that power in Gryffindor," James said flatly, hoping to keep her talking, while he thought of a way out of the situation.

"Are you that naïve of your surnames' influence?"

When James did not answer, Bellatrix laughed. "You are! You are that naïve. It does not change things. Sirius was born for a purpose and instead of hanging with blood traitors; he should be forging connections with true wizards and witches. Your presence in his life is very damaging and I'm tired of asking nicely…"

Bellatrix let the last words hang in the air for the most menacing effect. Snape and Lestrange had been watching the verbal exchange lazily and James had a feeling Bellatrix had ordered them to stay out of it until necessary. The time had come for their involvement because they were both reaching for their wands and advancing forward.

James knew he only had a few choices. He could not fight back. He could attempt to disarm one of them, so he'd only have to deal with two attackers. His last option was to make a dive for his invisibility cloak, tucked safely in the school bag, which he had dropped on the floor when Bellatrix had first called his name. It would be risky enough moving with enough speed to get the cloak over him before any of them would have a chance to hex him, and more importantly he wasn't fond of the idea of these three Slytherins knowing the existence of the cloak.

The cloak was a much more useful tool when no one knew you had access to one. James took a step back, racking his brain for another option, none came. It looked liked he would be spending the night in the Hospital Wing.

"Stop this at once," Professor Flitwick cried, though the slight squeak to his words failed to make them as forceful as the words would have. "Lower your wands!"

James turned gratefully toward the teacher's intervention, even though usually he felt matters between students should be kept between students. The most surprising thing was Peter, horns still present, was standing near Flitwick, looking pleased with his decision.

James could have hugged Peter for the perfect timing. Peter had gone for help instead of the Hospital Wing!

"Detention Miss Black! Detention Mr. Snape! Detention Mr. Lestrange! This behavior is not tolerable. I'll be speaking to Professor Slughorn about this." The teacher's words rang through the hallway and even Bellatrix looked for a moment cowed. "Go to your common room. There's no reason for you to be roaming the hallways."

James watched with satisfaction as the three Slytherins followed Flitwick's orders, only Snape took a moment to give James a challenging look. Bellatrix turned away contemptuously, no longer concerned with James, now that she was unable to bully him with a teacher near.

"Are you hurt Mr. Potter? Mr. Pettigrew alerted me of your predicament…"

"I'm fine Professor."

"Go on to Madam Pomfrey. She should be able to fix Mr. Pettigrew right up. And back to the common room after that…I must find Professor Slughorn…"

* * *

Severus Snape felt unclean. Professor Slughorn had treated him as if he were some common Muggle, making him serve his detention by scrubbing a slew of crusted bottles, jars, and other potion containers. 

Honestly this was work for a house-elf and to make it worse he knew more than one cleaning spells that could have gotten the job finished in a mater of seconds.

Snape blamed his predicament on the Blacks – both of them; Bellatrix and Sirius. He was in detention because Bellatrix had gone on one of her jaunts, picking Potter because he was close friends with Sirius Black. And obviously the whole reason for the jaunt was because of Sirius and his 'rebellion'.

As it was Snape earlier in the year had been assigned to keep an eye on Black and his associates. Bellatrix had called it an honor that she had chosen him, but Snape knew she was testing her control over him. Snape felt like an errand boy, but he kept the feelings to himself. If he wanted to rise up in Slytherin he needed to bide his time and put in the required work, especially since he didn't have a family name to ride on. His relation to the Prince's just wasn't enough.

Snape's job of watching Sirius wasn't hard. He had a few classes with him, but having to be on the lookout constantly for Black or Potter to drop a public hint about their activities grew tiring, especially when he would rather put in all his concentration on his school work. And exactly what information Bellatrix thought she'd extract from a report that twice in one class Professor McGonagall had yelled at the Gryffindor duo to pay attention? Anyone with two eyes could deduce they were mates; Bellatrix didn't need him to fill her in on tidbits that daily proved what was common knowledge.

Snape didn't need any particular reason to loathe Potter and Black, and following them around only increased his dislike. He was sick of watching James and Sirius erupt into fits of laughter randomly in the hallway, clutching their bellies. Ridiculous behavior and Black should know better than to act like that in public. Snape didn't need that type of companionship. He was fine with partners – all business and there to lend support should the occasion arise.

He tried to imagine laughing outrageously in the middle of the hallway with Rosier, as Potter and Black had, but the image was so strange he could not even form it. Snape was seeking recognition – for the student body to be in awe of his skills. He knew his knowledge of magic was still far greater than any second year. The only hitch was Bellatrix did not see his extra spell knowledge as useful as Lucius Malfoy had the year before.

Right now he had to bear down and take her nonsense. It was the smartest thing to do for Bellatrix was famous for her temper, her rash decisions, and impulsivity, all dangerous traits. Eventually, if everything went as planned, he'd have the upper hand in Slytherin in the years to come.

Snape was eager to return to his dorm. He wouldn't waste time showering; he only had an hour left in the library before the curfew set in. The library was his favorite sanctuary, especially since it was impossible to get work accomplished in the common room, which was over run with older students.

In the corner of his eye Snape saw a flashing light, which he thought looked like a spell. The only trouble was he was the only in the hallway, which meant the cast spell had appeared out of nowhere, which wasn't possible; spells did not appear out of thin air. Something hit him square in the face and for a moment he thought it was harmless until he felt his nose begin to rapidly enlarge. It grew so large that its weight caused Snape to slouch forward, unable to keep his head up straight.

Laughter echoed in the hallway; laughter that he recognized as Potter's and Black's. Snape spun around, hoping to catch them, but he was still alone. This was not the first time he'd caught Potter and Black involved in something that was impossible unless they had a way to make themselves invisible. Snape didn't view Potter and Black particularly talented or resourceful, so he had a feeling their method of invisibility was simple. He'd scoured the library for information of human invisibility and found the school library suspiciously lacking in that information. Snape was not someone who gave up easily and he was willing to wait for the Gryffindors to slip up.

At the moment the thing that concerned Snape the most was to find a way to the Hospital Wing without too many students, especially Gryffindors, seeing him in this state. Luckily on his way to the Infirmary he'd only run into a group of first year Ravenclaws who had looked at the abnormal size of his nose in horror.

Inside he found Lily Evans consoling a Hufflepuff classmate. The Hufflepuff was crying hysterically covering her face with hands that were twice the normal size. The girl was fretting about the cause of her swollen appendages. "It came out of nowhere! It was a ghost!"

Pomfrey touted and assured the upset girl that ghosts could not perform magic.

She turned toward Snape and cried, "Oh my! Invisible spellcaster as well?"

"No," Snape answered silkily, "I know who cast it."

He noticed Evans perk up her head. He resolutely ignored her. Even though Evans had a 'dab had in Potions' according to Slughorn, she was a mudblood and in Gryffindor and he couldn't take a chance with even giving her the time of day.

So he hadn't been Potter's and Black's only or first victim…very interesting…

* * *

At Hogwarts unusual things were practically a daily occurrence. Over the past week a strange phenomenon had spread rapidly through the school. At random, with no discernable pattern, things from noses to shoes to doorknobs would suddenly swell and enlarge. The only clue to the cause was a flash of light. Many students believed an invisible unknowable entity was running rampant around Hogwarts. Only four students knew the truth of the phenomenon and one other student had guessed the cause. 

It had all started out very innocently. James over the last several days had seen a group of fourth years in the common room practicing the swelling charm. The spell required two defined movements and for reasons James wasn't sure the spell stayed in his mind.

Later that week when Sirius and James had been roaming the halls under the invisibility cloak, they had crept upon Evans chatting with a Hufflepuff girl named Lauren. James feeling mischievous had decided to try out the swelling spell. James hadn't even been confident the spell would work, and was surprised to hear Lauren shriek like a banshee when her hands enlarged.

After Evans had run down the hall after Laura, James had looked over to Sirius' shocked face and they started laughing uncontrollably. By chance the next student they had come across was Snape. The chance of getting one up upon Snivellus was too good to miss. With Sirius egging him on, James performed the charm again, aiming at Snape's already abnormally large nose.

After that Sirius had pleaded with James to show him the spell and they ran with the idea. At first Sirius just tested it here and there and suddenly every chance they got, as long as they had the cloak or some other way to hide or no one was around, they'd send a spell flying. The majority of the students found the whole situation funny and it was all anyone would talk about.

The prank was low key, only disrupting daily life slightly. The most serious interruption would be something along the lines of an entire Charms class late because the door to get into the corridor where class was held was stuck from an enlarged door knob.

It would have continued, but a group of teenage Ravenclaw girls became hysterical enough to refuse to leave their common room out of fear of being the next victim. After that incident Dumbledore announced to the student body that a full investigation would occur unless whoever was responsible did not cease their activities immediately. The same day investigations were announced rumors that James and Sirius were behind it also began circling. Sirius and James had only spoken to Remus and Peter about the prank.

They didn't spend much time dwelling on the source of the rumor because the student rumor did not convince any of the teachers to question James nor Sirius. Also the association of their names to the swelling phenomenon didn't do anything to affect their status in the student body's eyes, even slightly bumping it up (minus the hysterical Ravenclaw girls). Still there was no reason to push their luck, so they retired the spell for the time being.

Without enlarging random items to keep them occupied, James and Sirius had joined Remus and Peter in the library to finish up their homework. They had chosen a table in the far back where it was still possible to talk in whispers without the librarian swooping down to shush them. Remus and Peter were searching for books in the library stacks, leaving James and Sirius alone at the table.

James was unable to concentrate on his work; instead he kept trying to think of a tactful way to bring up Sirius' secret. James had suspected that Sirius' parents used corporeal punishment; Mrs. Black had heavily insinuated it during James' short visit to the Black home. Thinking your mate was being mistreated was a lot different than hearing him say it out loud. James wanted to address it without making a big deal over it.

"I reckon you really were locked in your basement all summer," James remarked, keeping his voice light and soft.

Sirius let out a hollow laugh. "Why would I lie about that?"

James searched his mind for an answer. He hadn't meant Sirius had lied. He'd used the comment as an avenue toward the topic. "It's just – well I think it should have been obvious to more people, like the teachers, that you'd been mistreated over the summer."

James already knew the answer to that. Discipline, punishment, rearing of children, and methods of home teaching was largely left to the parents with little Ministry interference. This was especially the case in the wealthy, pureblood lines. Essentially what you did behind closed door was your own business.

"No one likes interfering with the Black's affairs," Sirius responded confirming James' thoughts. "Not that I can blame them…"

"Were you locked up for Christmas break?"

James fully expected Sirius to tell him to mind his own business, but he answered. "I was mainly confined to different rooms of the house to do lessons. Then once my mother learned I was sneaking out to visit _you_, she was understandably upset and she resorted to-"

Sirius didn't need to finish the sentence and there was no need for him to. James knew what he was referring to.

"When did that start? Did your parents always-" James took a swallow, "- did they always hit you?"

Sirius shifted in his chair. The topic was uncomfortable, but James was not going to back down. Sirius would let him know when enough was enough; James didn't have to worry about Sirius being shy about that.

"No…before Hogwarts they had started locking me up when I misbehaved or no dessert, sometimes a whole meal I'd miss. That started over the summer when the usual methods weren't working."

"Weren't working to do what exactly?"

"Squash my rebellion, eliminate the Gryffindor in me…gain their control over me and ensure my obedience."

James nodded in understanding. His parents had talked with him about the radical purebloods – the kind you could never reason with, and the Blacks were clearly the poster family for that group.

"You didn't give in?" The statement came out like a question, but it wasn't really one. James knew Sirius hadn't given in, but the amount of nerve, even bravery it must have taken to stand up to his parents under the onslaught of punishment – it could not have been an easy thing to do.

"I didn't rebel against everything," Sirius explained, his eyes scanning the library to see if their conversation had lured in any eavesdroppers. "I did all the assignments, read the books, and went through the motions. I didn't shout or complain if I was locked up or if I missed a meal. I just wouldn't give in to the things that really mattered. I could not promise them I'd be re-sorted into Slytherin. I still stood up for my friendship with you, Peter and Remus, even after they'd arranged the spy idea." The words rushed out of Sirius' mouth as if once he'd begun talking he couldn't stop, releasing the things he'd never spoken to anyone about.

"Your family will keep at it. Won't they? Just a few days ago Bellatrix…"

Sirius slumped back in his chair and hissed, "What did Bellatrix do?'

"Just some taunting…nothing important. Professor Flitwick came across us and put her in detention. She didn't say or do anything new…she was angry about Slytherin's quidditch loss and then she went on about my bad influence on you."

"Well if you continue being friends with me, you can expect many more of those confrontations."

"I know," James stated, meeting Sirius' eyes. They were friends now and that wasn't going to change. Bellatrix and her gang made James wary and Sirius' mother was downright frightening, but not enough to let them decide for him who he was going to be friends with.

"Bugger," Sirius said distractedly. "I've got my lessons with Adair soon. If I'm late again you probably won't see me until morning."

"What are you learning in those lessons?"

"My, my you sure are full of questions today," Sirius answered. James grinned sheepishly.

"Well I'm curious of those grandparents of yours, so you'll be answering some questions yourself," Sirius promised. "Later mate. Tell Peter and Remus goodbye for me."

Sirius scampered out of the library; the librarian shaking a fist at him for running down the aisles. Sirius had been more forthcoming about his home life than every before. The one major snag was as much as James wanted to help Sirius; they were only children. There was not much he could do to stop Sirius' parents from punishing him. On top of that James knew continuing his friendship with Sirius was one of the things Sirius was being punished for; and even though Sirius would never blame him, there was truth to it.

"Where did Sirius go?" Peter asked placing a large pile of books on the table, which tumbled scattering across the table.

"Adair's lesson."

Peter shivered. "I had a nightmare about Professor Adair last night."

"Be glad it was only that," James said ominously, "Sirius is actually living it."

Peter frowned gathering back his books into a pile. James went to dig out his half written Transfiguration essay, and began working diligently on it.

* * *

Sirius picked up his head and discreetly placed his quill down. His hand was cramping from all the work Adair had him complete during the lessons. He moved his hand around, stretching the tense muscles. Adair rarely actually spoke to him other than to give him instructions or verbally quiz him, testing if he was learning and memorizing the material. 

"Mr. Black," Adair spat out his name venomously. She took half a dozen steps toward him. Fearing he was going to be rebuked for taking a break, Sirius reached back for the quill, ready to begin writing again. Adair's voice stopped him before he had a hold on the quill.

"You are at an important party, the party of the year, of a very influential pureblood family. You have been speaking to the host and he tells you about his political views, particularly about muggles and mudbloods," Adair said the last word slowly, savoring the effect of his reaction to a teacher using the foul word. "He states a lot of ideas, including that mudbloods and even certain half-bloods should not be educated and certainly not given the same rights. The host turns to you for your opinion on the subject. What would be your proper response?"

It took a few seconds for all the words to sink it. "What does this have to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor?"

"Answer the question Mr. Black," she answered silkily, grey eyes looking icier than Sirius had ever seen them.

Sirius was very tempted to say something rude or even to chuck the bottle of ink in Adair's face and leave the lesson. His patience at the games Adair was playing during the lessons, sneaking in pureblood ideologies when he least expected it, was waning.

Adair hadn't yet used the ruler on him, but he doubted that would stay the same if he chose either of the above choices.

"I'd excuse myself politely. Perhaps say my throat was parched and I needed a drink or point out another guest that I wished to speak with."

"You'd excuse yourself?" Adair repeated mockingly.

"It would be better than starting an argument."

"And why would you argue with the host?"

"Obviously because I don't believe in muggleborns not being taught…"

"They are inferior to us, Mr. Black."

"No," Sirius retorted, "You teach muggleborns…look at Lily Evans…you teach her! She gets high marks in all our classes!"

Adair appeared to consider this revelation. "That can happen sometimes. Clearly Miss Evans has strong magical blood, but she's an abnormality. Most mudbloods, I can name some for you, are not fit to be taught. Not all purebloods are completely gifted or have the same degree of cleverness, but at least we know, they are fully magical, that magic in their blood is strong, untainted, so their ability is there, it just needs to be brought out and harnessed."

Sirius thought of Peter, who was a pureblood, and who was not as bright as Remus, a half-blood, but he was wary of bringing up his friends' names. Adair hadn't mentioned them yet during their lessons and he didn't want to give the teacher any opening to berate his friends.

"Continue with your work," Adair instructed returning back to her desk. Sirius stared down at his notebook, half-filled with lines.

He hadn't memorized the last set satisfactorily for Adair, so she was requiring him to rewrite them again and again. At any moment Adair could begin verbally questioning him. She enjoyed doing it randomly just so she could watch him stammer through the list. Usually Sirius could easily remember things after hearing or reading them a few times, but the Latin he was learning was not only close in pronouncement and spelling, but also in definition making it easy to mix them. In addition the lessons were only once a week and Sirius didn't spend any time outside the lesson going over any of the information.

Sirius began doing his lines once more, but his thoughts quickly wandered. He wished Bellatrix would stop at tormenting him and leave James out of it all. James had made it clear during their conversation that it didn't bother him, and Sirius believed him. James wasn't one to back down on anything. At least James now understood more about what Sirius was against. It hadn't been an easy conversation. Still Sirius didn't like how James was becoming more intertwined with it all. More and more Bellatrix and his parents were bringing up James' name and blaming him almost solely for Sirius' rebellion, but none of that could sadly be helped.

It was as if his parents felt he just followed everything James did and said blindly. True his friendship with James had changed his views in many ways – had he had no friends in Gryffindor, would things be different? Maybe…probably…

His family couldn't grasp that James hadn't done any of it intentionally. He hadn't knowingly caused the Black's harm and it was unjust of his family to attack an underage student. Yet things were rarely fair in the real world and they'd just have to deal with them.

* * *

Peter stared at the Spinning Spider Vine uncertainly. Professor Sprout's arms were entirely entwined in the dark green vines. She was demonstrating what would happen if they didn't properly follow the instructions and the steps to take if an accident did occur. 

After the demonstration, Professor Sprout had the class divide into groups of three. Peter groaned inwardly. This presented a problem when your group of friends consisted of four and not three.

It was a given James and Sirius would pair up. Peter gazed at James and Sirius uncertainly, praying silently they'd choose him over Remus. It occurred to him that he could pair up with Remus and they could just ask another student to join their group. The thing was Peter hadn't completely come to terms with Remus being a werewolf. He doubted any of his friends realized he still felt that way because he'd grown good at pretending everything was fine. Peter just forced himself not to think about that fact when he was around Remus or when he talked to Remus, which was quite easy since the topic wasn't brought up often. That would most likely change the moment the next full moon came around.

While Peter was mulling all this over, Remus had come to a decision all this own. He told Peter he could be the third in James' and Sirius' group and he'd find another group to join. Peter nodded silently and dragged his chair closer to where James and Sirius were sitting.

There were three separate jobs to be divided up; Peter would spray the special mixture of water, lilac, and crushed sprigs. This mist would calm the plant, so that James could rapidly snap off the orange berries the size of cherry tomatoes, and then Sirius would poke two holes in each immersing them in water.

Peter completed his job satisfactorily and he watched Sprout walk around the groups checking and commenting here and there. Turning back to his group, Peter noticed that James had picked about half the berries already, which meant now they had to wait a few minutes to give the plant a rest to avoid any unnecessary stress on the plant.

"I was thinking," James said wiping his fingers off with a cloth, the familiar glint in his eye, which meant he had an idea; one the hopefully would not place them in detention.

"Adair's lessons are supposed to be helping you in Defense Against the Dark Arts, correct?"

"Yes," Sirius answered distractedly for he was still watching the Spinning spider's fruit bounce up and down in the water he'd immersed them in.

"What if I joined you?" James offered.

Sirius tore his gaze from the fruit, looking at James as if he'd grown another head.

"How could you join me? My mother set up this lesson to control me more…the lessons are a cover-up."

"Exactly," James said with a grin. "Whether you are learning anything really doesn't matter…McGonagall, Dumbledore, all the other teachers think these are legitimate lessons."

"Yes, so?" Sirius said not catching on with James' train of thought. Peter learned forward in his chair waiting for James' revelation.

"So I could write my parents and tell them you've told me you're learning a lot during the lessons and that I'd like extra lessons as well."

"You want lessons with Adair?" Peter asked bewildered. "Did you forget what a mad-women she is?"

"I agree with Peter. You're mental!"

"Adair couldn't deny me these lessons, not when she's pretending they are real lessons. Weren't you saying Adair didn't like these lessons any more than you do?"

"I don't think she likes the extra work, but she still enjoys tormenting me. It's more of a punishment for me than her."

"So, she's punishing you for the extra work, which isn't fair. You'd quit in an instant if you could. Can't you see how great it would be if I received lessons at the same time as you. She might even have to teach us something, especially if my parents ask for reports. That will make the lessons more interesting. And we could mess with her – two against one."

"She does have rules you know and she's not shy about enforcing them."

"Not a problem. I was thinking of messing with her not by acting out, but by being very interested, eager and excited about the lessons."

"Wouldn't our parents be suspicious about asking for tutoring?"

"I can convince them," James said with a wave of his hand.

Sirius looked uncertain. Peter couldn't blame him. He was thinking of telling James to have the nurse go look at him. Willfully subjecting oneself to extra time with a vile teacher like Adair meant James was clearly going insane.

"Look there's nothing we can do to actually stop the lessons, but this way we can gain more control. Just think how unnerved Adair will be with me being in the room, especially if I show interest in the learning and everything she has us do."

"It's your choice and as long as you don't think it will backfire."

"It won't. How could it? The worst that would happen is that things would stay the same as they are and then at least you'd still have me there as company."

Sirius nodded and Peter could tell as surprised as he was, he was pleased with James' idea. James wasn't scared of anything or anybody, which Peter could not understand because Peter was scared of a lot of things and a lot of people; Adair and being alone with Adair was on the top of his list.

He also couldn't ignore the inkling of jealousy growing inside of him. It really was great of James to go through this length to make Sirius' lessons more bearable. It was just that Peter didn't believe James would have done the same if he'd been in Sirius' shoes instead, and it hurt slightly to realize this truth.

Sprout announced to the class that they could continue picking the rest of the fruit of the plant since enough time had passed. Peter pushed the jealousy aside. They were still his friends…and picked up the spray bottle.

* * *

A week later Sirius walked into Adair's office, suppressing the giddiness inside threatening to burst out. He gave a quick bow and then turned expectantly toward the office door he'd left open. James strode in as if it were his office. He preformed a graceful bow, low and submissive, yet it had a mocking feeling to it. 

"Mr. Potter?" Adair looked astounded. "This is a private lesson. I'll ask you to leave."

"Has Professor McGonagall not spoken to you?" James asked innocently, his eyes wide. "My parents want me to have extra lessons too. Sirius told me all the wonderful _things_ he's learning."

James smiled up at Adair, looking like an eager first year, ready to wave his wand for the first time. Adair stood up, her eyes clouded and the creases in her face thundered. Even if this backfired this lesson would surely be more entertaining than all the others.

**A/N: Thanks for READING, please REVIEW and let me know what you think.**

**Also I was happy to see most readers really liked the secret sharing part of the last chapter, especially since I wasn't sure if that came off as too sentimental. Thanks guys, you're the best!**

**If you left an unsigned review for chapter 19, I've responded in my profile. Also updates about where I am with the next chapter are usually posted in my profile as well.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: My plan is still to get this story finished before the seventh book comes out…this chapter came out later than I hoped, which always seems to be the case. Oh well, here it is:**

James turned to grin at Sirius, but before Sirius could return the smile, Adair struck toward him like lightning and grabbed a tight hold on his upper arm. Adair while gripping his arm painfully marched him forward.

"Think you're funny, Mr. Potter?" Adair didn't pause for his response, which was probably a good thing. "We'll see about that after we pay a visit to Professor McGonagall."

Continuing to hold James in a death grip, she forced him out of the office. Sirius rushed out to follow after them.

"Mr. Black, you are to stay here. Begin your work," Adair stated coldly. Sirius hesitated, and then turned slowly around back into the office glancing over his shoulder worriedly.

They met Professor McGonagall outside her office. She was unlocking her door and was muttering under her breath about some trouble Peeves had started on the fourth floor that had to do with paper and water.

McGonagall gestured them to follow her into her office. It wasn't until they had entered McGonagall's office that Adair finally let go of James' arm. Not wanting to give Adair any additional satisfaction, James stopped himself from rubbing his injured arm.

"What's Mr. Potter done now?" McGonagall asked peering at James over her glasses, even though the question was directed at Adair.

"Mr. Potter is a liar," Adair explained very calmly.

"A liar?" McGonagall asked, not looking at all impressed by the charge. "I do no understand."

"Professor Adair doesn't believe that my parents wrote to you about receiving extra help in Defense Against the Dark Arts along with Sirius," James blurted out figuring it was in his best interest to get the truth out there as quickly as possible.

"Clearly the boy is not telling the truth," Adair replied.

"He is not lying," McGonagall responded tersely.

"Excuse me?" Adair's voice was deadly quiet.

"I've been terribly busy and did not have the chance to forward the request made by Mr. Potter's parents. I did not believe it would cause a problem and instructed Mr. Potter to just arrive at the lesson with Mr. Black."

"Well I decline. I cannot tutor Mr. Potter."

"Why ever not? Can he not join Mr. Black?"

"No, he cannot. I have made great progress with Mr. Black and having another student present, especially one that is his friend, would impede it greatly."

"Then I suppose you'll set up a separate time for Mr. Potter?"

"I do not have the time for that."

"I'm afraid you must. You cannot say yes to one set of parents and not another."

"I can when I know that Mr. Potter is only requesting lessons in an effort to annoy me."

McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "I highly doubt that."

"Defense Against the Dark Arts is one of my favorite subjects," James interjected earnestly. "Sirius was telling me all the things he was learning and I found it really interesting, especially since he was learning a lot of extra things based off what we've already learned in class."

James was lying through his teeth, but it wasn't as if Adair could rebuke it. She couldn't claim that Sirius was only learning a slew of Latin words and not what the lessons were supposed to be about in front of McGonagall.

"See there. Mr. Potter is genuinely interested. Surely the reason we all teach is for this very reason, to especially help students who want to learn more than the minimum the school requires."

Adair nodded curtly and gave James a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I suppose I have no choice."

James felt his heart lift in victory even under Adair's cold gaze. James had won the first battle; Adair would be required to teach him.

So Adair grabbed him around the arm again and marched him back to her office. James didn't understand why Adair felt she had to keep such a tight grip on him when he made it clear that he wanted to be in her presence quite voluntarily and he was not going to run away.

Sirius did not even attempt to hide his relief at James' safe arrival with Adair. The moment Adair let go of James' inside the office, she lashed out at Sirius grabbing the notebook he was in the process of writing in.

"Is this all you've completed?" Adair hissed.

"Yes, Professor," Sirius mumbled his eyes on the desk.

Adair strode over to her desk retrieving her favorite instrument of choice, her ruler. She slapped it down hard at the desk Sirius was sitting at, causing both Sirius and James to jump back in alarm, startled by the violence of the noise.

"This is not acceptable."

"We were only gone for a few minutes," James protested. Sirius had probably been too worried about what had been going on to concentrate on busy work.

Adair's gaze turned suddenly on James and he felt as if a cold breeze had just blown over him. "I suppose Mr. Black did not inform you the strict rules that we adhere in my office."

"He told me some," James responded with a shrug. James knew he had to bow when entering and exiting. He found this a very silly tradition. Sirius, however, did find it at all ridiculous, it was something he was very used to doing in front of adults and besides being a bother didn't think of it in any further way.

"First of all you will only speak when spoken too. I will not tolerate any disrespect, and all your responses will end with a 'Professor' or 'ma'am'. Do you understand?"

James held himself back from rolling his eyes and with all the respect he could muster toward Adair replied, "Yes, Professor."

"Good. As punishment," Adair picked out a book with a purple cover from her overstuffed bookshelf, "you can copy onto the blackboard over there pages one through three."

James accepted the book, opening it up to see it was not only in the smallest kind of print he'd ever encountered, but full of pureblood ideology.

"Since I was not given prior notice about your presence, I do not have extra desk or notebook, so you'll be standing for the duration of the lesson."

"Yes, Professor," James answered dully. He didn't really care about the standing, but the busy work he wasn't too excited about it, still he'd go along with it. James still had to be careful because Adair, as the teacher, was still very much in control of the situation.

Quietness filled the small room, and James started on his task. The slight squeaking sound of the chalk was the only sound filling the room. James paused to look at what Adair was having Sirius do. He noticed she hadn't given Sirius back his book; instead she was caressing the ruler in her hand as if it were some pet. James turned slowly back to his task and he heard Adair say something softly to Sirius. James swiveled around when he heard the ruler hit something. It was only the desk, but Sirius' face had turned very pale.

Adair advanced to her desk taking out a piece of black chalk. James had never seen chalk in this color. She handed it to Sirius and the moment it touched Sirius' hand it turned a bright red color. The color was so bright that James couldn't believe the chalk wasn't giving off heat.

"What's this for?" Sirius asked in bewilderment. Confronted only with Adair's silent foreboding stare, Sirius added, "Professor."

"That writing utensil will stay bright red until it believes you are sufficiently remorseful," Adair explained and she retrieved a book for Sirius to copy lines out of. "I would begin writing quickly or your hand might start to throb."

"What does Sirius have to be remorseful for?" James spat out. James knew he should have been concentrating on his own punishment instead of watching the exchange between his friend and Professor.

"You can add copying pages four and five, Mr. Potter. And what does Mr. Black have to be punished for?"

James held his breath waiting for the answer.

"I think that should be obvious...bringing you here."

* * *

"Just put that away already!" Sirius said irritably. 

"I've go to learn these before-"

"You've got until next week! For Merlin's sake, _I_ haven't even memorized it all."

James closed the book. Adair had threatened James that if he didn't catch up to where Sirius was by next lesson she'd use that as a reason to discontinue the lesson.

"I just think the best way to annoy Adair is for me to pass her verbal test spectacularly," James explained. "And any way, perhaps these Latin roots will become handy."

"Handy?" scoffed Sirius. "Exactly how do you figure that out?"

"James is right," Remus interrupted. He'd been engrossed in an essay, but apparently listening attentively to their conversation at the same time. "We use words – mainly with some sort of Latin connection – to harness the magic within us. The more you know about the words, the definition, where they come from, the more you know about magic. You could even modify spells or event your own spells."

"You can invent your own spells?" Peter asked wide-eyed.

"Obviously," snorted Sirius, "Someone at some point invented them. Where did you think they came from? Did the spells just fall from the sky?"

"So Adair isn't teaching us complete rubbish," James exclaimed with a grin.

"Just marvelous," Sirius replied sarcastically. "Perhaps we should beg her to double our tutoring lessons."

James laughed. "All right, I'll look it over later, but I will memorize them. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Sirius said. "That's where you were supposed to come in."

"You never told us what Adair said when she saw you," Peter told James.

"Ah, she called me a liar and then took me over to see McGonagall. McGonagall put her in her place…it was very entertaining…only for a short while because as soon as we were back in her office she took her disappointment out on Sirius and me."

"What did she do?" Peter breathed, entrapped by James' description.

"Strung us up by our ankles and left us there for hours," James answered with a serious expression.

Peter gasped and it took him a few seconds to figure out James was just pulling his leg. "What did she really do?" Peter whined.

"I had to copy some lines from an old book and Sirius-"

"I did the same," Sirius answered quickly.

James nodded, not sure why Sirius didn't want the others to know the twist Adair had put on Sirius' line writing.

"Enough talking about that," Sirius grumbled.

James laughed. "What is it that _you_, Prince of the Noble and Ancient House of Black, want to talk about?"

Sirius made a face and then looked pointedly at James. "Actually you."

"What?" James asked not following James' train of thought.

"Let's talk about you, James."

"Me?" James asked with a careful laugh.

"Yes. The Potters, one of the biggest blood traitors, want their sole heir to marry a pureblood. I think we all deserve an explanation."

"Oh. _That_."

Sirius nodded enthusiastically.

"My family wasn't always considered full blood traitors…that title we've only gotten recently."

"The Potters have always been soft on muggles and non-purebloods, have they not? Or have my parents not given me a proper history lesson on all pureblood families?"

"Well yes…especially compared to your family."

Peter sighed dramatically. "My mum would be happy if I married anyone…I don't think she'd care about blood, she'd just be happy that I'd found someone," Peter supplied softly.

"We're a bit young to be discussing marriage," Remus stated.

"Hardly. We are at the perfect age. This is when the old pureblood families begin worrying about this sort of thing, especially for their heirs. It's all about forming the right alliances through their sons and daughters," Sirius said matter of factly.

James nodded in agreement. "My grandfather has only touched the idea few times, but those times he was completely serious about the idea."

"Do you think he'd force you into a marriage," Remus asked with concern.

"I don't know – I don't think so – I think he'd be very forceful of his expectations, even verbally forceful, but I think that's as far as it would go."

Remus was shaking his head as if he couldn't believe that they were being very serious about the possibility of arranged marriages. "It all seems so barbaric that families still force their children to marry. Isn't that something that was stopped ages ago?"

"Pureblood families are very traditional and they don't like change. Marriage isn't for love; just like friendship isn't just for companionship sake. And if you want to stay one hundred percent pure you can't let you son or daughter marry any old witch or wizard," Sirius explained.

"Well that makes sense, if you care about purity," Remus conceded.

"And there isn't much choice these days. The pureblood families are dwindling. I'll probably end up marrying someone related to me, like my cousin."

"That's disgusting. Your cousin?" Peter said making a face.

"Imagine marrying Bellatrix," James chimed.

"Don't even joke about that!" Sirius cried in horror.

Peter and Remus snickered.

"Is Victoria Dekker pure?" Sirius asked James.

"Why? Are you interested?" James responded hopefully.

Sirius laughed. "She's all yours mate."

"You might not even have anything to worry about James," Peter said. "You might fall in love with a pureblood girl. It wouldn't matter then."

"I might, but I just wish – I wish no one cared about those things."

"It's only going to get worse," Remus relayed.

"What is?" Sirius asked.

"Blood mattering."

"Why do you reckon that?"

"Haven't you been reading the Daily Prophet lately?" Remus questioned. Sirius and James scoffed at even the suggestion. "Well the rumors are still growing about an all out war based on blood. Mind you, its just rumors, but ones that won't go away, which lends me to believe there must be some basis."

"Rumors are still rumors," Sirius insisted, yet his words were far different from his own thoughts. He remembered that the meeting he attended with his father and listening to The Lord. The man had more than hinted about bigger things to come and about obtaining more rights and privileges for the 'pure'. It sounded very similar to what Remus had described the Prophet was printing; eerily similar.

* * *

"That was satisfactory, Mr. Potter," Adair stated. 

'_Satisfactory_?' James thought. He felt he'd earned more praise than that. He'd just recited perfectly all the Latin words Adair had instructed him to memorize. Adair had them both standing behind their desks facing each other. James now had his very own desk as well as a notebook. Sirius was grinning at him from across the room.

"Now what I find interesting is how it was possible for Mr. Potter to learn all those words in a mere week, while Mr. Black, you've had weeks to work on them and you still do not have them properly memorized."

Sirius was no longer smiling.

"Do you have an answer to that, Mr. Black?" Adair questioned.

"Perhaps because James was not forced into these lessons as I was, Professor," Sirius replied smartly.

"No, I think it's because you do not have the proper motivation."

James' intention had never been for Adair to compare his progress against Sirius'. James had spent all that time only because he wanted to prove to Adair he was serious about this all. He'd never expected Adair to attempt to pit them against each other. It wouldn't work, but it was quick thinking on the teacher's part. It would not be wise of James to forget that Adair would not try everything to make these lessons as awful as possible for them.

"Mr. Black, what do you think is the proper motivation for you?"

Sirius looked startled by the question. Adair was baiting him obviously since there was no reason for her to really care about his opinion.

"Doubling these lessons, Professor," Sirius answered carefully.

Adair smiled. "That is merely a twist on detention. I've seen your record and I know that detention is not a true determent. I was debating about corporal punishment, which has worked on you in the past to an extent." Adair paused. "Still I don't think just using corporal methods will do enough. Since you two boys are so adamant about having these lessons together, I think a great motivation for both of you would be that for every rule you break you will both be consequently punished. I'll let you off today with a warning. I will not punish Mr. Black for not being fully prepared, but we have a busy day ahead of us. Do not get used to this leniency. Mr. Black, if you do not show by next lesson more interest, you will each receive ten lashes. If you do not have the material memorized as Mr. Potter has, you will each receive ten lashes for that as well. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Professor," James and Sirius answered mechanically in unison.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other," Adair said. "Now sit."

James sat in his seat heavily. Sirius had warned him that Adair was very strict in her private lessons and this meant they didn't have much room in the confines of the lesson to try anything. Still James had one thing he could still use and that was his parents' influence. His parents, unlike Sirius', could and would complain to the Headmaster if James alerted them that Adair was not teaching them real things as well as abusing her position as teacher.

He had to be careful about how and when you use his parental influence. He'd only have one shot in playing that card. If and when his parents complained Adair would most likely just change tactics.

* * *

Remus opened his eyes. He was on his back in bed and as he rolled over onto his stomach his body protested the movement. 

It was once again approaching full moon time. He looked over to see the magical clock on his bed stand. If he wanted to shower before breakfast, he had to get up. Remus did not want to miss breakfast. He always became ravenous around this time, which didn't completely fit with his other usual symptom around this time, which was nauseousness.

Hair still wet and school bag slung over his shoulder, Remus followed his friends down to the Great Hall for breakfast. James and Sirius sounded louder and more boisterous this morning than usual or perhaps he was just more sensitive this morning.

There was one change for this full moon. He wouldn't have to think up a lie to tell his friends about his upcoming absence. They knew he was a werewolf and they had accepted it. He was very grateful, but it was hard to change the habit of keeping this time of the month secret as he had done for so many years. Remus was still getting used the idea of his friends knowing. Remus almost had to remind himself that they did know and that he could actual talk to them about it. He was also so used to hiding his symptoms that it didn't occur to him to ask James and Sirius to speak a little quieter that morning.

They took a seat in their usual area digging heartedly into the breakfast meal laid out in front of them.

"You're looking a bit peaky today," James pointed out and then in a slightly lower voice said, "Is it because of your furry little problem?"

The glass Remus had been holding in his hand crashed to the floor. All the Gryffindors turned to look at him, most with annoyance at the noise distraction. Sirius fixed the glass with a '_Reparo_!"

"My – er- what?" Remus asked faintly.

"Furry little problem," James repeated. "I thought it would be a good way to refer to it in public."

Remus stared at James, unsure of the proper reaction; if he should laugh or yell angrily at James.

_Furry little problem?_ Did James not understand the severity of transforming into a deadly monster once a month? Calling it that made it seem as if it were nothing more than a slight inconvenience. Remus had lived with this affliction for most of his life and never had he thought of his lycanthropy in such light terms.

"Brilliant, James," Sirius agreed, leaning back into his chair.

Peter was looking at Remus worriedly. "Is that ok with you, Remus?" Perhaps Peter was frightened that if they angered him, he'd attack them in wolf form in the middle of the night. Or maybe Peter was just more intuitive because only now did James and Sirius realize his reaction had not been entirely positive on hearing the code word.

"It's just…" Remus didn't know how to explain it. "It's just not exactly a proper description is it? Little? Furry?"

"You do have fur, don't you?" Sirius asked.

"Well yes," Remus muttered. "But _little problem_? Have you seen pictures of-" Remus didn't want to utter the word werewolf with so many people around.

James didn't look dismayed or disappointed by Remus' reaction. "That was the point in the code word, Remus. I realize you don't turn into a fluffy bunny, but we don't want people guessing what you are, do we? So what better way than using a saying like that, which will throw fellow students off the trail completely?"

Remus couldn't argue with that logic. It did make sense if you looked at it in that way.

At home and at school before his four friends had figured out the truth, the full moon had always been very serious business. His parents had blatantly told him the repercussions that could occur if he did not take the proper safety precautions. They had never joked about it or made light of it. Ever. Everything they did as a family, even if it wasn't that time of the moon cycle, his parents always brought up his lycanthropy. It was always taken into account in whatever they did. Remus had never pictured thinking about it all in any other way. Werewolf was synonymous with monster, beast, and savage.

Now James had taken something Remus had always viewed in a somber and grave manner and turned it all upside down. James had accomplished that in three simple words.

Remus took a big gulp of pumpkin juice and decided to answer James' original question. "Yes, I am feeling under the weather because of my furry little problem"

He said the last three words quickly, wanting to get them out as quickly as possible. It was something he had to get used to - this different way of looking at his lycanthropy.

* * *

Madam Pomfrey was busy refilling her supply of healing potions. Every year she was at Hogwarts, she felt the amount of injuries sustained by students increased. 

She heard a sudden loud commotion in the part of the Hospital Wing where the patients were kept. She sighed wanting to continue with her work, but knowing she'd first have to deal with whoever was making the racket.

She had always disliked allowing students to have visitors and while she had been busy on this task, a group must have snuck in. She only had two patients, Remus Lupin and Linda Hustle. Lupin, the poor lad, never had any visitors, so she assumed it was for Hustle. Miss Hustle was unconscious at the moment, which meant the volume of the visitors was clearly unneeded.

She swooped into the Hospital Wing ready to chase off a group of concerned friends. Why was it students could never understand how important noise volume was in the Hospital Wing? Mr. Lupin especially needed rest. Last night had not been an easy transformation. The boy had been covered with scratches and abrasions. The wolf had wanted human prey and it had made its discontent very clear.

Laugher greeted her as she walked out of the medicine closet and the sound caused her to stop mid-stride. To her surprise, the boy laughing the loudest was Mr. Lupin. He was surrounded by three friends. Madam Pomfrey recognized Potter and Black as well as the third smaller boy, though his surname had slipped her mind.

She had never seen Lupin so at ease and happy after a transformation. He had always been so sullen and quiet. It had always broken her heart to see an innocent child have to go through such a thing every month and she did her best to make it as bearable as possible. Still she had never been able to receive more than a guarded half smile from him.

She knew Potter and Black were considered troublemakers by the Hogwarts staff. She had treated both boys after they had gotten themselves into one trouble or another. Apparently she had judged the two boys wrongly; there was more to Potter and Black than them caring only about troublemaking. For one thing, they valued friendship.

Werewolves typically lived very lonely lives with very little contact with the magical world. Lupin was already an exception among his kind with the fact that he was receiving a formal education and with friends like these boys he'd at least have a happier life, and perhaps as he matured he could help restore werewolf rights.

Watching Remus laugh and smile, Madam Pomfrey realized she did not have the heart to tell the boys to lower the volume. They were not disturbing the other patient who was still unconscious, so she disappeared back into the medicine room. She'd give them another fifteen minutes or so before chasing them out.

* * *

Remus was relieved to be released from the Hospital Wing. He no longer had the burden of facing his friends' question of his whereabouts. 

James, Sirius and Peter had also surprised him by visiting him in the Hospital Wing. They had in detail described to him the day he'd missed and had not brought up the fact that he was covered in bandages nor the bruise on his cheek. Madam Pomfrey had eventually chased them away and after they'd gone he fallen into a restful peaceful sleep.

Remus entered the Portrait Hall and he stopped in the entranceway hearing one of the Gryffindor girls speak his name. It sounded as if Adrianna and Lily were asking Sirius about his whereabouts.

"He's visiting his mother," Sirius answered back. There was an evident lack of patience in his voice.

"He missed a full day of class!" Lily said. "When is he coming back?"

"His mother is sick. He'll come back when he comes back!" Sirius replied. "It really isn't any of your business where he goes anyway."

It was funny to hear Sirius use the very excuse he had fed his friends all those long months.

He entered the room and Sirius upon seeing him greeted him loudly with, "How is your _mother_ doing?"

"Not good," Remus said, "I'll probably have to visit her again in a month or so."

"Sorry to hear that mate," Sirius answered solemnly, clapping Remus on the back. Remus could see it was taking all Sirius' effort not to begin laughing. They headed toward the stairs that led to the dorm and Remus could hear the girls muttering about 'how strange boys were'.

As they joined James and Peter in their dorm, he felt a sudden fondness for his friends. Not abandoning him had been one thing and he would have been happy with just that. The fact they had taken it a step further to prove to him they didn't care he was a werewolf was more than he could hope for, which was why when later in the day they began discussing the next prank, he did not try to talk them out of it as usual, instead he asked, "What can I do to help?"

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. There will be much more with Professor Adair in the next chapters; she'll play an important role in the ending. Please review! **


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: This chapter is shorter than my usual. I wanted to get another update in, and I'm already working on the next chapter.**

Time at Hogwarts was now passing quickly; there were only seven weeks left of Sirius' second year. As usual with the school year coming to end, the teachers were piling up the work from surprise quizzes to essays the length of short books. Poor James had to deal with Quidditch practice on top of it all. Gryffindor had a real chance to actually win the Quidditch Cup this year and McCoy was doing all he could to make sure the team was prepared.

Sirius and James still found time for fun; life would not be worth living without some of that. They caught on quickly to all the new magic and theories the teachers were ramming into their brains, so even with all the work they still managed to find some downtime. With the help of Remus and Peter, they pulled off another prank without getting caught, but they didn't celebrate as loudly as they should have because later that same day Slughorn assigned James and Sirius detention for throwing a dungbomb into Snape's cauldron.

In addition Sirius and James still had Adair's lessons, which though hadn't gotten any worse; they hadn't gotten any better either. As a matter of fact at the present moment they were walking to one of the lessons.

"I wish there was something we could do," James muttered. Without having to ask for clarification of what that 'something' was, Sirius knew he was talking about their werewolf friend, Remus.

Another full moon had come and gone, and even Peter, who had taken the longest time to understand that Remus was still Remus even if he turned into a werewolf once a month, wished that they could do something – really anything - to help. They visited Remus in the Hospital Wing attempting to cheer him up and pretending they didn't notice how mangled he looked, but it didn't feel nearly adequate enough.

"There's nothing," Sirius replied for the twentieth time that week. They'd had this conversation before. "Unless two second years came come up with a cure, which is bloody unlikely."

"There has to be something!" James insisted. "It isn't fair that Remus has to suffer."

Sirius was already very aware of how unfair the world could be. James, on the other hand, had grown up in a more pampered lifestyle, refused to believe there were certain things that were simply unfair and that nothing could be done about it.

They were keeping one thing secret from Remus. It wasn't a big deal, even though they had sort of promised Remus they wouldn't do the thing they were keeping secret from him. James had insisted their actions had fallen in a loophole since they hadn't entered the tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack on the full moon (none of them had a death wish), but they had the next morning. By then the full moon had waned and Remus was completely harmless; and it wasn't as if they hadn't gone out without preparation. They had taken James' invisibility cloak and had left the castle so early in the morning that even Filch was still sleeping.

Sirius wasn't sure what he had expected, but it wasn't the horrible sight that they witnessed that morning. Remus lay naked and unconscious on the floor with most of the cuts and bites covering his body still bleeding. James had covered their friend with a blanket and they all just stared silently at him for a few moments.

Then they heard someone entering the Shack and they rushed to a back corner of the room flinging the cloak over them. The visitor was Madam Pomfrey and they spent a tense ten minutes against one of the walls watching her attend to Lupin's worst wounds. She then conjured a stretcher, levitated him onto it and with a flick of her wand they were both gone.

Sirius and James had now arrived at Adair's office to find a note tacked on the door addressed to them. The lesson was to be held in a medium size classroom down the hall. They exchanged furtive glances at each other; neither excited about a change in the usual plans.

Reaching the classroom door, Sirius knocked on it softly three times.

"Enter," Adair instructed. With one more glance at James, Sirius walked in first to find the room had been cleared of all desks. On the large desk meant for a teacher was a cage with four rats.

"Just because we are in a different setting does not mean the usual courtesies are not to be followed," Adair snapped. They hastily bowed hoping she would not punish them.

"Right. Today and for the next few lessons we will be doing practical learning," Adair stated.

Sirius looked at James wondering if he had spoken to his parents about the monotony of their lessons and perhaps had gotten them to persuade Adair to do something interesting. James looked too shocked and surprised for this to be the case.

"You do have your wands?"

"Yes, Professor," they replied in unison. Having deprived a wand all summer, Sirius had decided to never again let it out of his sight if he could help it.

"Excellent. Now watch me."

Adair jutted her wand toward the rat cage, opening the lock and levitating the rat out of it, onto the desk. She gave her wand another twirl and jab, and the rat that'd been scrambling away, dropped on its side, kicking its legs and gasping for breath. Sirius stared at the rat in apprehension. The spell looked very familiar…

"Mr. Black, you are already familiar with this spell. Your mother told me you successfully cast it this summer. It causes the victim to believe their airway is constricting," Adair said with an evil smile on her face.

Sirius did not answer because he was watching the look of disgust and apprehension on James' face. What was James going to think of him now? Could he convince James that he'd been forced over the summer to learn and practice darker magic? None of the spells had been illegal, just on the questionable side.

"But, that's a _Dark_ spell, Professor," James said interrupting Sirius' worried thoughts.

"You are speaking without permission, Mr. Potter."

"I don't care! I won't cast a Dark curse like that!" James shouted.

"Calm yourself. There's no reason to worry about compromising your morals; you won't be casting the spell. I'm teaching you _Defense _Against the Dark Arts. I'll be casting it on you and we'll see how your defensive skills are shaping up. It is naïve for you to believe that if you are ever attacked that the attacker would only try to disarm you instead of using Dark magic. I believe the only real way to learn is to experience the real thing."

James did not reply, but he was still glaring at Adair. Sirius was relieved James wasn't glaring at him.

"Mr. Black, you will go first. Now go stand in the center of the room. I want you to try to block whichever spell I throw at you in anyway you know. Ok then, one, two, three…"

Sirius barely had his wand out when he saw the flash of light coming straight at his head. He did the first thing he could think of, which was duck down, so that the spell flew over his head and hit the opposite wall with a loud crack. The Professor didn't give him a second to recuperate, sending another spell at him once more and this one hit its mark. He fell to his knees gasping from the pain and trying to get air back into his lungs.

"Let's make one thing clear. Dodging the spells will not be allowed. You are wizards, not Muggles! You may only defend yourself using magic. Is that clear, boys?"

"Yes, Professor," James muttered. Sirius wasn't able to answer since he was still trying to catch is breath.

"Mr. Potter, it is your turn," Adair instructed abruptly. "I think Mr. Black needs some rest." Adair was looking down at Sirius disdainfully.

Sirius flushed at hearing the Professor's remark, but backed away from the center of the room to allow James to take his spot.

James having seen Sirius go was more prepared. James even managed the pull off a Shield charm that knocked the first curse away. Professor Adair was not in a gentle mood and kept sending spell after spell until James couldn't hold the Shield charm any longer.

"Not bad, Mr. Potter, but your Shield Charm is very weak. I suggest you practice in your spare time with that. Mr. Black, your turn again…"

The lesson may have only lasted an hour, but it felt as if they were in the room all day. Adair kept switching back and forth between the two of them, never giving either of them enough rest. They were both exhausted by the end with thoughts of the homework they had not completed yet looming in their minds.

Adair had used a range of three different darker curses on them. It was good practice and even the short period of time they had both gotten better at holding the Shield Charm, but only out of necessity. Adair only criticized them without offering any suggestions or better defensive spells. She stated that for now she wanted them to only rely on their instincts.

On the walk back to the dormitory James muttered that he was going to scour the library in his free time, find every defensive spell book written, and memorize each and every spell.

It was a mark of how their friendship had strengthened that James did not ask him about how he had come to learn the dark Throat-tightening curse.

* * *

"Oi Potter!" 

James turned toward the sound of the voice. James and Sirius were headed to the courtyard to meet Remus and Peter for their free period.

Robert McCoy was running toward them breathless. "I'm almost late for Ancient Runes. Could you run this to McGonagall? She's in class right now, but I want her to get this right away. It's our practice schedule for the next month and its best if she books it straight away. I don't want the Slytherins to end up with the best practice times."

"Sure," James answered taking the neatly folded piece of paper from McCoy. "I have a free period now anyway."

"Excellent. See you two later," McCoy stated quickly and he started down the hallway at a jog before they could say anything in return.

"You don't mind, do you?" James asked.

"No, not at all. I want Gryffindor to win the Cup just as much as the next person."

By the time they reached McGonagall's classroom she was already in deep discussion with her class. They paused near the door, which was cracked open to listen to the topic the fifth year class was covering.

"— is one of the most highly advanced forms of Transfiguration and if you are not careful can go horrible wrong. There are a very small number of witches and wizards who have the magical ability and strength to even attempt it because of how complicated the process is. The Ministry keeps a tight control over those wishing to become Animagus and all Animagus are required to register with the Improper Use of Magic Office. As underage wizards and witches none of you are prepared for the advanced magic this requires, which is why today we will only be studying the theory behind it…"

"Imagine being able to turn into an animal at will…" James whispered looking through the crack intently.

"It would be brilliant, but you heard McGonagall… We've only just learned how to transfigure beetles into buttons."

"Still it would be interesting to learn more about it," James said. Transfiguration was his favorite and best subject. Professor McGonagall had mentioned before in their class how difficult human transfiguration was, but that was as far as she had touched the subject.

"When would we have the time? You have Quidditch, exams are coming up, we need to practice for Adair's lessons, and I'm sure we'll be serving another detention or two before term is over. Anyway, what use would it really be for us besides being a really good trick to show off?"

James paused in thought for a moment. "To help Remus," he replied suddenly, excitement growing in his voice.

"What?"

"Do you remember what we've read about werewolves?"

"Yes, still how does turning into an animal-"

"Werewolves are only a danger to humans, not animals."

"So are you saying we'd keep him company?" Sirius asked in shock.

"Exactly."

"Are you mad?"

"You said you wanted to help Remus."

"I was thinking of something simpler…"

"Well it is simpler than coming up with a cure," James retorted with a slight grin. "It can't hurt to do some looking around, some research. It won't be easy to get books that cover more than the theory, but the restriction section might have something."

"Adair has a book on it. She had me re-shelving her books for detention one time. I had to write down all the titles and put them in order by subject."

"Well then our next mission is to liberate that book," James said with a smile and stepped forward to knock on the door.

* * *

With the help of the invisibility cloak 'borrowing' the book on Animagus was easy and it went off without a hitch. Remus and Peter had created a distraction near Adair's office, getting the teacher to vacate the room so that Sirius under the invisibility cloak could search the book shelf. They had convinced James, who had not been happy about it, to not have any part in it. They had been worried with the Quidditch game near that if Adair caught them, she'd punish James by banning him from playing in the game. 

The book now was hidden at the bottom of Sirius' trunk. They had been so busy with everything that they hadn't had a moment to look it over or even a moment alone. They had both decided to keep it from Peter and Remus until they had more information on the topic.

Adair had continued with the practical lessons and they were only getting more physical and tiring. Though these forced lessons could not quite be called enjoyable, it didn't mean that they weren't learning anything. It was quite the opposite; their reflexes had improved greatly as well as their wand work. Professor Flitwick had even remarked one day in Charms about the improvement in their controlled handling of their wands. Lily Evans wasn't too happy to hear this, usually earning most of the praise in that class for Gryffindor.

One lesson Adair even took the time to instruct them on proper stance technique and how the arms and body should be held during a duel. Though at times like that Sirius and James forgot they considered Adair an 'enemy' teacher, she reminded them often by keeping them on their toes. Sometimes in the middle of the practical lesson, she'd suddenly quiz them on the Latin words they had memorized weeks ago, and if they made any mistakes she's assign them extra homework. Their teacher appeared torn between being impressed by the improvement in their defensive skills and annoyed that they were actually catching on so quickly. Every lesson she was pushing them harder and further as if seeing how far she could go.

The biggest game of the year was fast approaching now and with Hufflepuff beating Ravenclaw, the House Quidditch Cup would be between Gryffindor and Slytherin. All seven Gryffindor Quidditch players were constantly being targeted by the Slytherins in the hallways over the past two weeks. When teachers and prefects were near it was merely them hissing insults or shoving past them roughly, but when no authority was in sight the insults turned to hexes and jinxes. Sirius felt James was targeted unnecessarily more than all the other players and he was convinced that it was because of Bellatrix.

Feeling it was their duty to get back at the Slytherins, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter came up with a plan. During breakfast one morning, only three days away from the game, after all the owls had delivered their mail, a lone brown owl flew in toward the Slytherin table screeching loudly. It dropped in the middle of the table an innocent looking red envelope.

"Whose howler is that?" demanded Bellatrix loudly drawing the attention of the entire student body instead of just the Slytherins and four Gryffindor boys.

"It's addressed to the Slytherin House," a first-year Slytherin replied timidly.

"Don't be ridiculous," Bellatrix bellowed picking up the envelope and upon reading who it was addressed to, tore it open violently.

A loud snobbish booming voice filled the Great Hall. "I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE DISGRACED TO HAVE BEEN THE FOUNDER OF THE HOUSE OF SYLTHERIN. TO THINK MY ONCE PROUD HOUSE IS FILLED WITH COWARDS AND DUNDERHEADS. I AM FILLED WITH SHAME TO SEE HOW YOU HAVE DISHONORED YOUR ANCESTORS AND MY GOOD NAME, WHICH IS WHY I WANT TO SAY 'GOOD LUCK' TO THE NOBLE HOUSE OF GRYFFINDOR IN THIS WEEK'S UPCOMING MATCH AGAINST SLYTHERIN. GRYFFINDOR SURELY DESERVES THIS WIN. SINCERELY SALAZAR SLYTHERIN."

There was a moment of stunned silence and then a roar of laughter overcame three-fourths of the student body, the sound overwhelming the shouts and grumbles of the mortified Slytherins.

It had been Sirius with a help of a voice charm Remus had discovered who had recorded his voice for the howler. The next few days no Slytherin could walk the hall without some Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff quoting the howler or jabbing some joke referencing the howler.

The fun did not end there; Sirius charmed a bottle of shampoo to chase Snape around the courtyard during their break that same afternoon. Then later that evening when Frederick began his own investigation on the masterminds behind the howler, James quickly drew and cut up ten Prefect pins so that they flew in a circle around his head and distracted Frederick enough that he turned in early for the night.

Though they eagerly wanted to take credit for the prank since it had embarrassed the Slytherins in front of the school, they had decided they'd wait until the last day of the school term. Not only would they hopefully avoid detention by waiting, but this way the student body would go home thinking about their brilliant prank.

* * *

Professor Adair arrived to the Quidditch pitch right as the last game of the year was beginning. She took her seat among the other teachers. She had no interest in the silly game, but she was obligated as a teacher to watch the House Cup Game. She clapped with the other Professors when both Slytherin _and _Gryffindor scored or made a spectacular save. 

Potter had scored the first goal, and after that the two Slytherin beaters had taken to targeting him more than the other two chasers. From the start the score stayed close with Gryffindor in the lead by one goal.

Potter now had the Quaffle and he was heading for the opposing goal. Somehow he had avoided one Bludger by doing a strange swerve to the right and then the other Bludger was also headed straight for the boy. Adair watched hearing a gaggle of girls near them cheer as he dived straight at the ground to avoid it (pity it missed him).

Adair looked upward for a moment taking her eyes off Potter when she heard the crowd gasp. She looked back to where Potter had been to see him falling from his broom, though there was no Bludger nor another player any where near. Potter hit the ground and Madam Hooch was blowing her whistle crazily. It took her a few seconds to call a time-out and get all the other players safely on the ground.

Adair followed the group of teachers to the unconscious boy on the ground. Her concern was different than all the other teachers; she did not care for the boy's welfare. Her only worry was that his injuries would require the school nurse to have a look at him. Even a half-trained nurse would be able to deduce the cause of Potter's collapse and then difficult and unpleasant questions were sure to arise.

**A/N: Thank you everyone for your continued support of this story. PLEASE REVIEW. **

**There is either one long chapter or two shorter chapters left and then Year Two will be over. **

**Also I've recently posted the first chapter of a short L/J fanfic called "Vertigo". Please check that out if you have a chance. **


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: This is it; the last chapter of this story. I want to thank all my readers and please enjoy this chapter!**

It happened quickly; one moment James was on his broom flying toward the opposing team's goal post and the next he was falling through the air. A group of girls sitting below Sirius screamed. Sirius watched in alarm as James landed in a crumpled heap of red and gold robes. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were seated on the very top level of the Quidditch stands, and it was impossible to see if James was seriously injured because everyone was standing up and craning their necks to have a look.

By the time Sirius, Remus and Peter had squeezed through the crowd to the bottom of the stands; James had been lifted onto a stretcher and was being carted away by Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick.

"Let's go to the Hospital Wing," Sirius suggested without a second thought. He started toward the castle without waiting for an answer.

"We're not going to watch the rest of the game?" Peter asked. Sirius stopped in his tracks, narrowing his eyes. "No," Sirius stated crossly. "Don't you care how James is?"

"I do but--" Peter stammered.

Robert McCoy was quickly leading Adrianna to the Quidditch changing rooms; she looked very pale and nervous. She would replace James as chaser, so that the game could continue.

"James is probably still unconscious," Remus said carefully. Upon seeing the look on Sirius's face he quickly added, "All right we'll go visit him – I'm not the one obsessed with Quidditch…"

They started toward the castle silently and they could hear behind them the crowd getting restless for the game to begin again.

"James has been looking more tired lately," Remus observed. Sirius had noticed this as well, but it being so close to the end of the school year it was hard to find a student that wasn't feeling pressured.

Sirius nodded. "Yes, but you'd think if he wasn't feeling well today he'd…"

"Shake it off and play in the game anyway," Remus finished.

Sirius sighed. Remus was, of course, correct. He could just imagine the look of astonishment on McCoy's face if James went up to him earlier before the game and asked to sit out.

They were now inside the castle and in what Sirius felt was record time they arrived at the Hospital Wing. Quietly they gathered around James's bed unnoticed.

"Goodness!" McGonagall cried emerging with Madam Pomfrey and Flitwick out of the medicine storage. "What are you doing in here?"

"We wanted to check on James," Sirius replied.

"Now is not the time. Madam Pomfrey will sort out what is wrong with Mr. Potter in no time."

"Can't we stay?"

"No," McGonagall replied firmly and she waved them away from the bed and out of the Hospital Wing door.

"Let's go back to the pitch," Peter offered.

Sirius sent a dark look at the firmly shut door to the Infirmary before replying, "I suppose."

They reached the Great Hall to find a stream of people cheering and laughing all dressed in red and gold. Mattie Carter spotted them. "We won the Cup!" she cried happily.

Sirius couldn't help feeling excited though he wished whole heartedly James was among the crowd instead of injured. Still at least they'd won and this way James wouldn't beat himself up thinking it had been his fault, his injury, which had caused them to loose the match.

They joined the throng of students to learn the game had only lasted for an additional four minutes. Camille had caught the snitch before either side could score another goal, so they had flattened Slytherin.

Once back in the common room different students approached asking about James, but the three of them were unable to supply very much information.

A few minutes later the Quidditch team entered to a tumult of applause, yelling and laughter. Once everyone had calmed down and broken up into groups here and there, McCoy and Darien walked over to them. They quickly relayed how they also had been to visit James to tell him they'd won the House cup. McGonagall hadn't even let them enter the Hospital Wing and told them to tell everyone else that James would not be allowed any visitors until the next day.

"He must be really hurt," Adrianna stated joining their group and not looking as cheerful as she normally would have after being substituted into her first Quidditch game.

"It looked like he fainted," Darien commented. "He was flying one moment and then the next…"

"You're always with him, Black. Did you notice anything peculiar?" McCoy asked.

"He's been a bit tired, but we all are," Sirius answered.

"Yea, who isn't feeling overworked," Adrianna added. Sirius noticed Victoria Dekker was sitting in the corner of the room looking very distraught. Sirius smirked thinking of how James would react hearing about that. There was nothing more fun than teasing James about Victoria's affections.

"Perhaps you overworked him with all those practices, McCoy," Frederick mumbled from the armchair he was sitting in near where they all stood. Though Frederick had always felt the more titles Gryffindor won the better, he had never thought highly of Quidditch players.

"We've won the Cup, have we not?" McCoy retorted indignantly.

"At the cost of your players' health," Frederick said. McCoy stared at Frederick as if he didn't really believe those words were coming of his mouth. Frederick was very lucky McCoy was not a violent person because no one in the room would have blamed him for hexing him on the spot. McCoy was distracted though by a group of fifth year girls who were trying to get his attention.

So an hour or two passed by, there were moments where the noise in the room grew very loud, but as it was still early afternoon, since the game had not lasted long, so no one was worried of McGonagall coming in and telling them to be quiet. Sirius thought the party would have been a lot of fun more with James.

This was why no one had any idea what was causing the commotion outside of the common room. Frederick stood up and announced since he was a Prefect he'd go check it out. The noise was louder and it sounded as if someone was arguing with the Portrait of the Fat Lady. Frederick returned only a few moments after with Professor Adair behind him. The common room fell silent instantly. None of them, even the seventh years could remember another teacher besides their Head of House entering the common room. Most of the students were giving her suspicious and unwelcoming looks; Adair was not a well liked teacher among Gryffindors.

Professor Adair was sweeping the room with a calculating gaze and it stopped when it fell on Sirius. "You!" she commanded loudly, pointing a well-manicured finger at him. Grace Landon who was speaking to him only seconds before stepped away from him, distancing herself. "Mr. Black, you will come with me."

"Why do you need him, Professor?" Frank Longbottom spoke springing to his feet. Sirius was grateful for the intervention by a Prefect, because Frederick would have loved to see him being carted away, preferably chained and gagged, and would not have cared in the least for there to be a reason.

"He stole something from me!" Sirius's eyes widened in surprise. "A book! He stole a book from me."

Sirius was frozen, stunned, and unable to move. How did she know? How could she have possible known? Even if she had noticed one book missing, why would she even suspect him? He was so in shock he didn't even open his mouth to defend himself.

"I wish to speak with him. Come now, Mr. Black."

Sirius looked at Remus and Peter, who looked very worried; and at Frank who was unable to do anything more. Sirius couldn't blame him; he couldn't stop Adair from taking him when Sirius hadn't tried to defend the accusation.

Sirius had no choice, but to follow Adair out of the safety of the common room. Once the door had closed shut, Adair's demeanor changed. She looked rather mad and shaken, not as in control.

"I didn't take anything – honestly – I-"

"Be quiet boy," Adair growled. She took her wand out and pointed it at his chest. "Now walk."

Sirius knew he was in trouble now. He'd never seen a teacher directly point his or her wand at a student unless it was to demonstrate something during a lesson. He suddenly realized that something was very wrong and his stomach churned in worry. Sirius turned slowly to walk in the direction Adair was pointing. She directed him along all the least common used passages, prodding his back with her wand if he slowed or hesitated in any way. It wasn't until they were in the part of the castle that was rarely used that she told him to stop and pushed him into a classroom. After only a few seconds had passed, Snape was knocking on the door and he entered.

"Well?" Adair asked him.

"Yes, all the teachers are searching your office. Professor, what is going on?"

Adair seemed only to be half-listening; her gaze was fixed firmly on Sirius.

Snape only noticed him then. "What's he doing here?" Snape was looking at him gleefully.

"Lend me your cloak Mr. Snape," Adair said suddenly. Snape looked at the Professor uncertainly, and then dutifully took it off. Adair grabbed it from him and she thrust it at Sirius. "Put this on, Mr. Black." It was a plain black cloak.

"Why?" Sirius asked looking at the worn cloak in distaste; the sleeves were frayed at the edges.

Adair looked livid and her sudden flair in temper surprised Sirius. She pointed her wand straight under his chin. Adair was no longer playing verbal games. She looked deadly serious and this was obviously not the time to test her. "Do as I instruct Mr. Black and you'll make it through this day unhurt."

Snape who hated Sirius more than anyone except perhaps James, even looked slightly concerned about Adair's erratic behavior. Sirius grudgingly fastened the cloak around him.

"Do you have the paper and quill I asked for Mr. Snape?"

"Yes, Professor." Snape handed her the items from under his cloak. Adair began writing furiously onto a sheet of paper.

"Wand, Mr. Black," Adair said. Sirius tried not to look disappointed for he'd been hoping she'd forget about it. He placed it in her outstretched hand without complaint. He wasn't stupid enough to anger her further. Something had certainly ruffled her feathers. She flicked her own wand and the paper wrapped itself around his wand and sealed itself shut. Adair handed the sealed package to Snape. "Deliver this to Headmaster in two hours."

"Yes, Professor."

"There's no point in delivering it sooner, he will be unable to open it until that time has passed."

Snape left looking very important and pleased with himself. After Snape had gone, Sirius blurted out. "I swear I never stole your book. You see I was just--"

He stopped talking when Adair began laughing. "Silly boy. Of course there's no stolen book."

Sirius had to stop himself from saying. "There's not?" He supposed he was lucky that she was so concerned with her own thoughts that she didn't see the guilt in his face or hear the guilt in his voice.

Her statement unfortunately did not at all comfort him. If this wasn't about stolen property, then what was it about?

* * *

"Stop here," Adair commanded. Sirius stopped.

"Turn around and put your hands together out in front of you."

Sirius followed Adair's instructions and rope flew out of her wand binding his hands together. In the distance he could still see Hogwarts castle faintly. Sirius wondered if anyone knew he was missing yet. He doubted it.

"You may sit down. We'll have a short break and then we'll be on our way again." Sirius awkwardly sat down. He was tired and worried. They'd been walking for a long time, but whether it was an hour or hours Sirius couldn't be sure.

He thought about how at wand point Adair had led him out of the castle. She was so nervous that she almost hexed a small bird for landing in a tree near them.

They were traveling on road that looked well-used, but so far they had not met another traveler. Adair conjured a cup out of the air, filled it up with water from her wand and gulped it down quickly. She glanced at Sirius, filled it up only halfway and held it up to his mouth so he could drink it. Half of it ended up dripping down his face.

"Where are you taking me?" Sirius voiced cautiously. Adair had them traveling very quickly, so clearly she wanted to take them as far away from Hogwarts as possible.

"You will see shortly," Adair stated. "Cooperate like you have and I won't have to hurt you."

"Why are the other Professors searching your office?" Sirius asked hoping to glean any information.

"How'd you know about that?" she growled.

"Snape mentioned it," Sirius said quietly.

"Right. Well it's your friend Potter's fault." Adair was scowling in the direction of the castle. "He just _had_ to faint during the Quidditch match."

"What did you do to James?" Sirius asked loudly.

"Nothing more than I've done to you. It's just some wizards and witches are affected by darker spells more than others."

"You're afraid you'll get in trouble for those dark spells you used on us? James won't tell on you. Why would he? We could have told on you many times and we never did, Professor."

"Nothing I used was illegal, just questionable," she replied not entirely answering his question. "We've had enough rest. Stand up."

Apparently he was moving too slowly for Adair because she ended up dragging him roughly to his feet. She prodded him sharply in the back with her wand once again. "Go on, along the path. Same pace as before."

Sirius sighed, but began the fast half-jog half-walk pace. Adair had not untied his hands, so he was not as steady on his feet as before and stumbled along the path a few times and he was awarded a sharp prod in the back every time he did.

They reached a crossroad and Sirius tried to read the posted sign that was so old that the name of the street, town or whatever was printed on it was indecipherable. Adair instructed him to take the left direction and they walked for another two kilometers. As they began to see houses, Adair placed his hood and her own on. She obviously wanted to hide their identity though Sirius felt it was unneeded. The area appeared quite deserted and he doubted anyone around would recognize him anyway.

In the dodgier part of the village, they stopped in front of a medium size house that needed a paint job and new awning.

Sirius had expected Adair to knock on the door, but she simply took out her wand, swished it at the doorknob and pushed him through the now unlocked door.

"Who's there?" a croaky old voice called. An old man in brown robes strode out into the pallor.

"Help me! Please help me!" Sirius called out. "She's kidnapped me!"

The old man looked at them bewildered, and then broke into a smile as Adair tugged off her hood. "My dear, my dear." He ignored Sirius and hugged Adair. "Why are you here? Why did you bring a boy? Is he a student?"

Adair took her cloak off, hanging it up on one of the hooks in the entrance way. "I will explain everything in a moment, father."

Adair took a hold of Sirius's arm and dragged him further into the house and into a living area. "Sit down over there." She pointed to a green couch that looked new and did not fit in with the rest of the decorations, which were all old. Sirius sat down cautiously.

Adair turned to her father. "There were complications.

"I thought everything was going as planned."

"It was," she answered shortly. "Another student, not this one, alerted me that they were searching my office. I knew sooner or later they'd find my notes as well as our products."

"And the boy? Why is he here?" Adair's father, though speaking about Sirius, refused to even look in his direction.

"He's our insurance. I'll be fired once the Headmaster realizes I've been testing our products on his precious students."

"You're holding him ransom?" the older man asked and he looked for the first time at Sirius gravely.

"All I'm asking for is my records to be returned to me and for all this to be hushed over. I'll resign my post as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with my integrity intact."

"And if the Headmaster doesn't agree? What will you do with the boy?"

"I'll dispose of him," Adair stated icily. "I'm not worried. Dumbledore is not a fool and a scandal like that will ruin the school. He'll come to the aide of his student. I'm more worried about the boy's mother."

"My mother?" Sirius echoed. He'd been listening quietly hoping they'd forget he was there and talk openly. If Adair expected his mother to pay some sort of ransom he was doomed. His parents would see this whole kidnapping plot as a positive thing. They could tell everyone how they tried to save their eldest son, but Adair was a completely unstable witch and there was absolutely nothing they could do. Then Regulus could take his place as the perfect heir. His family could just erase his very existence and not feel at all guilty about it.

"Yes, Mr. Black. I need your mother's influence. I need to be assured that she'll stand by me incase this all comes out to the press. You see, I never wanted to teach. I took this job for the money and for the supply of readable test subjects."

"So you've been poisoning students?" Sirius asked. "Did you spike all our morning pumpkin juice?"

"Hardly. It would not be wise to kill your test subjects. My father and I have been working and inventing a variety of cures, some of them pills, some of them potions, some of them creams and pastes for various ailments, mostly common non-life threatening ailments. We had a problem getting a license to sell our products and to continue with the research because neither of us has the proper education and we have used some questionable methods for these remedies. But now after a year of testing students, I have records to prove they are mostly safe and with no adverse side effects. This information will still not be enough to get the proper license or recognition, but with the influence of the Black name, they will be unable to turn me down."

"Is that was why James fainted? What have you been testing on him?"

"I have not tested anything on Potter. I've already told you. I just knew that once the nurse looked over Potter and saw the effects of those darker spells, they leave a certain residue, that questions would be asked. I was right. They were searching my office within an hour or so of looking over your friend."

"Then who were you testing them on?"

For once Adair didn't seem to care that he kept questioning her. It seemed she almost wanted to talk about it. Let someone know how much she had gotten away with under Dumbledore's nose.

"I handpicked a select group of subjects. I went after the quieter students, shyer ones, without many friends. So while the Heads of Houses and other teachers were concerned with my treatment of arrogant and obnoxious students like you and Potter, they didn't give any thought to the select group I befriended and invited for tea. These students were so thrilled that they'd been chosen, especially when I was yelling and putting all the popular students in detention that they never thought to tell anyone. I treated poor Miss Jeyer's terrible acne, Mr. Belran's skin rashes, and all sorts of other ailments. I told these students not to go to the nurse if they felt ill and to come straight to me with any problem. They listened and trusted me, so I was able to collect very valuable data. The type of information I would have been unable to obtain without live test subjects. I was careful and I kept a close eye on them. I didn't want to harm them."

Sirius almost laughed. He doubted Adair really cared about harming any students and certainly she didn't care if any harm came to him personally.

"Are you hungry?" Adair's father asked her. He didn't appear keen to allow his daughter to keep talking.

"I'm starving."

"I'll heat something up. Are we feeding the boy?"

Sirius did not like the way Adair's father kept referring to him as 'the boy' and talking about him as if he wasn't there. He didn't seem to want to really have a close look at him. Perhaps this way if Adair was forced to harm Sirius, he could pretend Sirius wasn't really there and thus have no feelings of guilt.

"No," Adair said coldly. "Father, in the guest room the windows are still charmed to be impenetrable, correct?"

"Yes." Adair's father stood up. "I'll start heating up dinner."

"I'll tend to the boy," Adair said quietly. She walked over to Sirius and instead of just asking him to stand; she gripped his upper arm painfully and forced him to his feet. Sirius was marched up the stairs to the second landing and into a small bedroom. The room was quite empty with one bed and a dresser. She whipped out her hand and the ropes tying his hands together unwound.

"Don't try anything. I'm locking this door after me and the window is locked by more than one spell. If you make any trouble I'll have no trouble tying you up once more. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Sirius said rubbing his hands where the rope had dug into his skin.

She left without another word and he heard more than one click as the door locked behind her. It was all unneeded though, since Sirius was wandless, even a Muggle lock would have been sufficient to keep him in the room. Sirius walked over to the window. It was a large drop to the bottom. He wouldn't have tried escaping out of it even if there hadn't been a charm on the window. Sirius walked around the room and checked the drawers in the dresser, but they were all empty. The only weapon that he could see in the room that was at all useful was the lamp. Still he doubted he would have the nerve to strike Adair or her father over the head with it. Sirius sat down on the bed. All there was to do now was wait it out.

* * *

"Get up, get up," a gruff voice called. Sirius sat up startled as the room came into focus. Adair's father was shaking him awake. Sirius hadn't remembered falling asleep.

"Stand up, boy," he commanded. Sirius was getting very tired of being bossed around, but when he saw the man holding his wand out and his taunt, pale face, Sirius decided now was not the time to make trouble.

The man carted Sirius out of the bedroom and into the darkened hallway and down the stairs, which were illuminated by two floating candles. Still held at wand-point Sirius found himself back in the room he'd originally been in before being banished to the room upstairs.

"There you are Dumbledore. Not a hair hurt on his body," Adair stated firmly.

Sirius looked in surprise at the additional occupant of the house. Dumbledore was seated on the green couch Sirius had sat on earlier and he was holding a cup of tea. Sirius stared incredulous. Had Adair and her father really offered the Headmaster tea? Sirius supposed it was always important to keep manners in mind, but during a forced exchange like this – a negotiation - it certainly was not necessary.

"Sirius, how are you?" Dumbledore asked his tone conversational as if they were all at some cocktail party.

"Er- all right Professor."

"I ask you again Professor Adair, if you would kindly allow Sirius to return to Hogwarts and we can work things out from there. I am sure we can come to an agreement that will satisfy us both."

"I have made my terms clear Dumbledore." Adair gave at nod to her father. The old man gripped Sirius in a tight hold; arm wrapped around the front of his shoulders and his wand's tip resting on Sirius's left cheek.

"Very well," Dumbledore said gravely. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this…"

There was a sudden and very bright white light. Sirius brought his hands up to cover his face and he felt Adair's father's grip loosen around him. The room also had turned really warm and as the bright light faded away Sirius warily uncovered his eyes. He saw both Adair and her father lying unconscious on the floor of the room.

Sirius turned in awe to look at Dumbledore. He hadn't known it was possible to stun two people at the same time. He'd always known the Headmaster was powerful, but he'd never actually seen him use any of his magic before.

"Sorry I couldn't warn you. I was hoping Professor Adair would cooperate."

Sirius just stared and it took a moment for him to find his voice. "She's been testing her products on students."

"I am aware. Madam Pomfrey has already checked all the students that Adair has tested on. Luckily none of the students appear to be hurt or have any adverse side effects, but they'll be checked more thoroughly over the next few days."

At the mention of the nurse, Sirius remembered that James was still in the Hospital Wing as well. "How is-?"

He didn't have to finish the question. Dumbledore appeared to read his mind. "Mr. Potter is doing well. We were able to rouse him quickly and he told us about the lessons you were having with Adair."

"Didn't you know about these lessons, Professor?"

"I did, I did. Only of them though, I did not know anything more. Your mother arranged them through the professors and Professor McGonagall did not think it was of grave importance to give me details about it."

"What's going to happen to Professor Adair?" Sirius asked glancing down at his teacher's unconscious form. She no longer looked the least bit intimidating.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts classes will unfortunately be cancelled…though I am not sure what will personally happen to Adair. Charges against her will be filed, but the outcome of those charges we will have to wait and see."

Dumbledore strode across the room and Sirius noticed for the first time that there was a small broken fireplace. Dumbledore examined it and then with a swish of his wand a fire was started. "This will bring you straight to Professor McGonagall's office. There is a plate of food waiting for you there and then you must go to the Hospital Wing so Madam Pomfrey can look you over."

"I'm unhurt," Sirius protested.

"It is just as a precaution. I will owl your parents to let them know you are safe."

Sirius nodded. He grabbed a bit of floo powder from a pouch Dumbledore took out of his office and he was swirling around into McGonagall's office.

Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk. After greeting him, she motioned him toward the conjured chair and table with a plate of food. He ate quickly and McGonagall then escorted him to the Hospital Wing. The school halls were quiet and deserted. It was late and all the students were asleep.

Madam Pomfrey fretted over him quietly as Sirius tried to look over to see James, but he was asleep and he was forbidden to wake James. Finally after drinking a tasteless liquid that 'would bring back his strength' he was allowed back to Gryffindor Tower. Sirius was grateful McGonagall trusted him to walk to the Tower on his own and right before she left she returned his wand back to him. He entered the empty common room, crept upstairs and fell onto his bed without waking anyone. He fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

The next day Sirius was bombarded by questions. First by Remus and Peter with Cory lurking in the background his ears perked so he could hear it all without looking really interested. Then by the Gryffindors in the common room and throughout the next day random students from all years wanted to know what had really happened with Adair. Professor Dumbledore had announced during breakfast that Professor Adair would no longer be teaching and though he did not go into much more detail than this, the whole school still knew the truth.

James was released from the Hospital Wing later that day. His arrival into Gryffindor Tower was met with a round of applause. Even with all the excitement and confusion of the day before, no one in Gryffindor had forgotten about winning the Quidditch Cup, and James had played a major part in it.

"Way to steal my thunder, mate," James said as he took a seat across from Sirius. Sirius stared at James blankly, but James was grinning. "Merely a few hours after I fall off my broom during the biggest game of the season and _you _manage to get yourself kidnapped by Professor Adair!"

Sirius laughed. James smiled and said, "Well I'm glad you're all right. Dumbledore was very angry. I heard Snape delivered the note from Adair to Dumbledore, is that true?"

"Yea…well I saw Adair give Snape something. I didn't see what was written on it."

"Git," muttered James.

"I wonder if Adair gave Snape any of her products."

"No, I don't think so," James answered. "I was awake when Madam Pomfrey was checking them all over and I didn't see Snape, and it's hard to miss him."

The rest of the school year passed very quickly. With everything going around Sirius had almost forgotten that they still had to take their examinations, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Their marks for that class would be determined by their previous scores, though it wouldn't count as heavily as all the other classes in determining their rank for the year.

Sirius didn't see Adair again that year, but the four of them under the invisibility cloak did spot Adair's father in Adair's office packing up his daughter's possessions escorted by a Ministry official. The Animagus book Sirius had 'borrowed' from Adair was still in his trunk and Sirius planned on looking it over carefully over the summer.

Rumors about what had happened to Sirius the night Adair had taken him were still circling, as Sirius was packing up his things to go back home. He was packing quickly and mindlessly. He did not want to think about being back home and especially not about how long the summer would be. It was hard though; it was all everyone talked about and by the snatches Sirius could hear, it sounded as if everyone had grand, exciting plans. Was he the only one in Hogwarts who'd be locked up in his room?

Sirius couldn't believe another year had come and gone. The four of them were now on the Hogwarts Express heading back to the platform, their bellies full because the food cart had just been by.

Sirius looked around at his friends fondly. They had grown much closer over the year, through unveiling secrets and plotting pranks, and Sirius was starting to regard them all, especially James, as more than friends. It was depressing to know that he'd have little contact with his best friends. Sirius still had the two-way mirror to contact James, but since Sirius's mother believed she had destroyed it, he would have to be extra careful with it. Still it would at least help keep him sane.

"Now remember," James began, "we aren't to believe any letters delivered by owls from each other. We'll talk through the mirrors. You never know if your parents or even my family will try to break our friendship apart again with fake letters."

Sirius nodded glumly. Remembering last summer was not helping to improve his mood one bit.

"Also I'm inviting you all to my house this summer."

"James…I don't think…" Sirius started.

"Even you Sirius," James interrupted. "We will figure something out. Your parents can't keep you locked up all summer. I want you to meet my parents properly. Trust me, my summer we'll be as boring as yours, but at least I'll be allowed outside. I'll be flying every day. Maybe I'll just fly over to your house and pick you up, right out your window."

Sirius raised his eyebrows and said dryly, "My parents lock my windows."

"I'll just have to find a spell that'll open them," James stated stubbornly.

Sirius wanted to argue about the absurdity of the plan, but he didn't. James was only trying to cheer him up and it was working. He doubted James was serious about trying that idea…then again…

Well it didn't really matter because Sirius knew he could survive the summer now, even if James's grand rescue plans didn't work out. Just knowing that his friends wanted to see him over the summer and wanted to see him enough to think up crazy rescue plans, would be enough to sustain him through it all and he spent the rest of the journey in a better mood.

**A/N: Well that's it! Please review.**

**I hope you enjoyed this story. I didn't spend as much time on the last chapter as I would have liked. I did get everything into the chapter that I had planned, though. I will be continuing on with other years in this story. I haven't decided yet if I'll write their third year or go straight to their fifth year. I have some really good ideas for Sirius's summer before third year, but I could deal with that in flashbacks if I choose to skip to third year. I'll keep you posted in my profile about what I'll be doing. It's strange to think next time I'll be working on this 'Footsteps' series, I'll have read the seventh book! I will also continue updating my other short story 'Vertigo'. **


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